The Next Step
by Huron
Summary: Its the sequel to Hyodo Issei's journey back.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello once again! I was reading some reviews again and only a couple of you guys wanted a sequel. I was excited, so I made this little prologue. **

**A new start**

Issei and Satan walked in an empty black space. Their footsteps echoed with each step, and the quiet walk was almost ominous. Satan finally asked

"Do you like it? It took a while to such a thing you know."

Issei looked at Satan with slight anger in his eyes, but simply said

"Yeah, I like it. Saizen can actually take it over and I don't have to worry about a second Sacred gear."

Issei grabbed the sword on his back. The same sword that pierced his shoulder during the battle with Satan. Siegfried's Imbued Edge, the sword that can cut down a god.

They walked for a few more minutes before Satan said

"We're here. Are you ready to continue?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

The black space started to distort, creating a new world. They soon found that this was the same place where Issei spent some of his training with Saizen. Satan walked towards the stone pillar where the dragons, Seraphim and Verium, rested. He put his hand on the cold marble and chanted a spell. Seraphim and Verium rose from the pillar faced him.

"Satan, what do you want with us?"

Seraphim asked bitterly. It seems that she did not have a good relationship with Satan.

Her brother managed to calm him down and calmly asked

"Why did you summon us?"

"I would like you to help Hyodo-kun into the next part of the journey."

"Ah, so he finished the first stage?"

Verium looked at Issei with interest, his emerald eyes gleaming with curiosity. He turned back to Satan and said

"I'll be his guardian then."

"B-brother, you can't be serious. You would actually help that boy?"

Seraphim said in sadness and disbelief, but she knew that once her brother decides on something, he sticks by it.

Satan gestured to Issei to come over. He walked at him slowly due the large dragons that easily overwhelmed him with power, no matter how much he could power up.

Issei looked closely at the two dragons. They looked exactly the same, but that Verium had green eyes, while Seraphim had purple. Satan said to Issei

"Hold out your right hand."

Issei did what he was told and held it out. Verium did the next incredible action, he dove into Issei's arm and shifted into a tattoo. His body swirled around Issei's arm like a black snake. The back of his hand had a dragon's jaw opening to a jewel. He looked in disbelief. Verium merged with Issei's right hand. Seraphim let out a small wail and said

"Brother, I'm coming too."

She did the same thing as Verium and shifted into a tattoo on his right arm. The dragons crossed each other since their bodies went to opposite directions, however the heads still met at the small jewel at the back of his hand. He felt no different. His power didn't seem to increase.

"OK then, Hyodo-kun, would you try to focus your power into the jewel and punch the ground?"

Issei didn't get it for, but he did what he said. He focused his void energy into the jewel and punched the ground.

He made contact and a large tremble was happening, and suddenly, two black dragons rose above the ground in a swirl before disappearing. He watched in amazement. He tried another attack, but this time he threw it in front of him. The two black dragons appeared out of a black mist and charged straight ahead. They hit the mountain and left a large crater. Issei turned towards Satan and said

"What is this?"

"The black twin dragons. They now will be also your 'partners'. Take care of the two."

He waved goodbye and disappeared, leaving Issei alone in the mountain. He looked down on his hand. He thought that Saizen would be his only partner during this journey. He asked Verium

"Where am I supposed to go to continue?"

"Out of the mountain, that is the next part of the journey."

Issei walked towards the mountain and looked up. The sheer height and its jagged walls will make climbing it impossible, at least for now. Verium did something unbelievable, he materialized as a black dragon and lifted Issei above the walls. His body swirled as he flew high above to the sky. Issei could feel the wind in his hair and delight of being carried by a dragon.

He reached the top and looked below the mountain. He saw a scenery similar to one of those fantasy mangas. Green valleys stretched far with trees gently swaying in the breeze. A dirt road was carved through the valley. He saw a horse carriage going about its business. He wanted to ask for some directions on where a town is. He activated the seals underneath his feet and he jumped up and released the seals. Fire erupted from his feet and he flew over the countryside.

I wonder what kind of people I'll meet. Satan-sama still didn't make himself clear when he said 'find the holy sword'.

[Oh? The holy sword? I see… It seems that this will be our new goal.]

Verium slowly said this.

A new journey and new goals. New friends, but will there be enemies?

**OK, I saw some of the reviews saying that you want Ddraig back. That will happen in later chapters. I hope you enjoyed this. I made the sequel rather early, don't you think? Oh well, I'm not very patient. Reviews are accepted, tell me how I did.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again. Sorry for the long update, but I'm kind of sick, so I couldn't type anything since my imagination went poof. Anyway, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it and review as well.**

**The holy sword, Excalibur**

Issei flew around and looked for a town. He suddenly heard an explosion in the distance and flew towards it. A large creature was fighting a group of girls. It was at least 50 feet tall with yellow fur, brown eyes, and canines the same height as Issei. It roared and charged at the group in front of it. The girls struggled to get up and dodge the animal, but still managed to. They were torn and beat up. He couldn't see their facial features since he was at a high elevation. Issei spoke to Verium

We should help them. That thing is going to kill them.

[We might as well, but in your state, its best if you go to balance breaker.]

Alright, I'll go to Lightweight and save the girls, before killing it.

[No, you should probably use my balance breaker form.]

What is it?

[Change to It and you'll see.]

Issei focused on the jewel and inserted his power. Verium's dragon tattoo started to glow and a voice in his mind said

"Balance breaker activated: Winged Crystal Lancelot."

He opened his eyes and expected an appearance change, but his clothes were still the same. The only thing different was that there were no flames coming out of his feet. He also heard a sound that resembled glass tapping each other. He turned and saw two wings. They were red and they were made up of crystals. The top half of the wings were smooth and hard, while its bottom half was jagged. The wings were similar to angel wings, but it looked more intimidating. He marveled at his wings before dropping at high speeds towards the creature. He hit the creature with tremendous force and sent it to the ground. He stood up and dusted himself and turned to the group.

He got a close look at them. They were beat up and their clothes were torn. There were at least 6 of them. 3 had orange hair, while the others had blue. Their eyes were completely opposite of each other. They had the eye color of the other group's hair color. Talk about freaky. Issei went to the one thing he needed, boobs! The group had amazing, healthy, and perky oppai. They could easily compare against Rias and Akeno-san's. They all looked different, but the hair and eye colors were just the same.

The girls looked at him in shock. They had never seen a boy with crystal wings before. Before any of the girls could speak, the creature Issei knocked out stood up again and pounced at Issei. Everything went slow-mo as the creature's large body came down on Issei. Verium shouted to Issei

[Don't worry, I'll handle it!]

The wings started to crumble and form something different in the air. Issei opened his to see four large spears next to him. They launched towards the creature and pierced its body. The spears threw the body away from Issei and they turned back to wings.

Thanks for the save there.

[Ahh, no problem. Just doing my job as a guardian.]

The girls went Into shock again. They couldn't seem to move after they just saw that. When they finally got to say something, it went something like this

"Uh, wha-, how the-, how did-, huh?"

Issei got really confused and looked at them questionably. After an uncomfortable silence, Issei spoke

"Um, do you know where a town is? I'm kind of lost."

The girl in the far right said slowly

"Oh, its north of here. We can take you there."

"Really? Thanks!"

"N-No problem, it's the least we can do after you saved us, right girls?"

The girls nodded slowly in response. Issei turned the balance breaker off and his whole body suddenly went numb. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Ouch, what is up with my body?

[It seems that the crystals have drained your energy. Those crystals feed off the user's stamina. To be able to use them longer, you need to build up your stamina.]

More training?

[More training.]

The girls picked up Issei by the shoulders and supported him with theirs. They walked towards the town in an awkward silence.

The walk only took about an hour before they reached a large town. By the time they reached it, Issei could already walk. They led Issei towards the large castle overseeing the town. They weaved through the busy streets towards the long road towards the castle. They reached the gates and opened it. Issei got a good look at the castle. It towered over the town and its great walls can make it a fortress. He entered the castle where a handsome knight stood waiting in the center of the large room. It appeared to be some sort of lobby. The girls bowed down to the knight, while Issei stood there with his head tilted. The knight gave him an glare and said

"Peasant, why are you not bowing to your superior?"

"Peasant? I'm not a peasant, you power hogging ass!"

"What did you just call me, peasant?"

The knight got angrier at Issei for the insult and reached for his sword.

"I said you're a power-hogging ass. Did you hear me now?"

The man had a bad temper and charged at Issei with his sword drawn. The girls tried to stop him, but they were knocked back by him, and he said

"Valkyries, why are you stopping me? Teach this peasant a lesson now!"

The girls stood still for a while, and finally said

"He saved us from a Razor Tiger. That is why we brought him here. To be enrolled, since he has amazing abilities."

"Oh really now? Well then, I'll be the judge of that."

He charged at Issei with his full force towards the tip of the blade. Issei side stepped to the right and let the knight pass him. He was seriously trying control the urge to beat this little snobby knight. The man is making it really hard to have some self-control, it reminded him of Kiba or Gasper.

The knight charged again, but there was something different. His attack was much faster and his blade looked more powerful. Ordinary people, it seems, can easily be killed or wounded with an attack like that, but Issei isn't ordinary. He dodged the attack and pushed his palm down on the blade and it hit the stone floor. He stepped back and got some space. The knight looked surprised, but he ripped the sword out of the floor and charged, this time there was a certain glow leaking out of the sword. He was determined to make Issei bow down to him, but Issei had other plans. He muttered to Verium

Ready?

[Tell me when.]

Now!

Issei pushed his hand up the air and two black swirls blew out of the ground and pushed the knight upwards towards the ceiling. The shadows slammed him at least twice before letting him fall. This almost made him want to do it to Saji, since he was his rival and all. The body fell to the ground with a thud, while Issei stood there rubbing his head.

Footsteps approached them and they turned. An old man with a long white beard, gray robe, and a wooden staff. He had his eyes closed and he slowly looked at Issei and then to the knight. He smiled at Issei and said

"I'm sorry for my student's temper. Please forgive him."

"Uh, yeah its alright."

"I heard that these girls wanted to enroll you into our school. Did you go with them willingly?"

"Well, you see, I wanted to just find a town. I never knew of an enrollment."

"I see. Well, would you like to join our school? You seem to have some skill. If you want to enroll, please attack me."

Huh, did he just say attack him?

[I have seen that man before, its at the tip of my tongue.]

I just want to find the holy sword, so we can go back home.

[I just remembered it! That man is associated with the current holy sword of this location.]

Really? I'll ask him if he does.

"Hey, uh, do you know of a holy sword around here?"

"Hmm? Yes I have, in fact, it is our symbol. Only the best of our students are allowed to wield such a powerful sword. The name of it is Excalibur."

That's the…

[Hmm, it seems my suspicion was true. We are back in time where Excalibur was just created. It seems that Satan gave you your wish, but he put you in the wrong time. You are back in the living.]

You mean, I'm alive?

[Satan keeps his promises, most of the time, but this is good since we only have to reach the holy sword.]

Rias, everyone, hold on just a bit longer. I'm almost back home.

Issei looked at the old man and nodded. The man smiled and he instantly disappeared. Issei looked around, but he wasn't seen. He suddenly felt a large pain in his stomach. The old man hit him with amazing force, and Issei couldn't detect his attack. He fell to the ground clutching his stomach. The old man said behind him

"Welcome to our academy."

He hit Issei's head and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Issei woke up to a large office. The walls were covered by large tapestry that illustrated an insignia Issei knew well. The insignia of the reaper dragon, Saizen. Issei saw his sword on the table to his right and his clothes were replaced by new ones. He had red clothing with light patches of armor on his shins, shoulders, and elbows. The age where Excalibur was crafted really had horrible fashion taste, that's for sure. He got up and looked around. The tapestry had the his partner's seal. He grabbed the sword where Saizen's spirit was sleeping and let some of his power flow into the sword. He heard Saizen's voice in his head again instead of Verium's.

[*Yawn* what's up dude? Whoa, it got crowded while I was asleep huh? Ugh, I'm glad I'm in this sword instead of being side you dude, no offense.]

None taken, but look at this.

[Hey, why is my insignia there?]

Don't have a clue dude.

[I have another question. What's up with the new fashion sense you got there?]

Don't ask me. I found this when I woke up.

[Uh-huh. OK then. Mind telling me the situation?]

Issei started to explain everything that had just happened and Saizen was quiet for a while before saying

[This will be complicated. The strongest holy sword is here. Hyodo-kun, it is best to be careful if you ever approach it. Your devil side still resides inside you. It will warn you when it is close.]

OK then.

The door opened and a girl with black hair and dark blue eyes came in. She wore the same clothes as Issei, but her color was blue and she had a skirt on. She had a slender body and large breasts. He could already have some nice fantasies with her. He had a goofy face on his face while the girl looked at him with her head tilted sideways. She said to him

"Um, we have to introduce you to your class now. Please follow me."

They walked together in the long hallways. They reached a wooden door and the girl opened it. They entered a classroom that had the desks sloped up. There were 3 in each row and 5 columns. The teacher's desk was at the very front. The whole classroom was in a semicircle that faced the teacher. Issei entered the room and saw that there was only one other boy in the class, and that was the guy he beat up. He looked at the sea of girls in front of him. All he was focused on was the different size of breasts. There were so much sizes. He drooled just a little bit before the teacher gestured for him. He told Issei to introduce himself. (**A/N: I love school scenarios, so please bear with me if this seems too familiar.**)

"My name is Hyodo Issei, I'll be in your care."

The room stayed silent and Issei took his seat next to the boy he fought. They gave each other glares before going back to the teacher. He was announcing something.

"Tryouts will happen at the countryside in the afternoon, I want all of you to attend and I expect everyone to participate. That is all."

The classes were old school for Issei, and he couldn't even understand their teaching skills. He was kind of struggling, but they did manage to teach the basics of it.

He walked around the school since he had free time and he finished his classes. They looked similar to his own school, except that its old and the walls were gray stone bricks. The teacher said to meet at the countryside, so he asked a girl that was leaning on the wall. She had shoulder length pink hair and golden brown eyes. She had the same body figure as Zenovia, but slightly larger boobs. He approached her and asked where the tryouts were.

She ignored him. He tried again. Ignored once again. He was getting impatient, but its best not to do anything rash. He just walked off, but the girl grabbed his shoulder. He turned around to see her eyes angry. Something ticked her off and she yelled

"Is that how you treat people, huh punk?'

"Huh? What did I do?"

"You just go ahead and beat people up, huh? That guy over there got beat up by you, and you have the gall to join this school? What was the headmaster thinking to let a trouble maker join us?"

"Uh, first of all, I didn't beat him up. He just charged at me because I didn't bow. Second, the old man I talked to asked me, and I said yes. Third, I don't really give a crap on what your views are, I just want to wield the holy sword. Does that answer your bratty questions? If so, let go of me."

The girl was shocked at his answer and she let go. She was intimidated, but at the same time, somewhat admired at his spirit. He walked towards the gates, but the girl stopped him again.

"The countryside is over there."

She pointed to the other side of the castle and into the valley, where many people were gathering into a circle. He was running towards the groups with the girl trailing behind him. He reached the circle and started to weave around the tight spaces. He finally entered the inner part of it where it was nearly empty. He saw a single man. The same one he fought. What is up with this? He always seems to be the reason of whatever Issei is doing. He wasn't looking at Issei and was challenging everyone to fight him. He finally turned around and saw Issei. He gave Issei a death glare and said

"Huh, so you're here again. Well, I'm going to enjoy beating the crap out of you."

"…OK, I'll fight, but where are the tryouts?"

"This is the tryouts. Anyone who can land a hit on me gets in."

"That's it?"

"Dumb ass, of course that's all. Well, come at me, peasant,"

This dude is seriously annoying, like Gasper when I met him.

He charged at the man with amazing speed and feint to the left. He took the feint and Issei spun around and launched the hilt of his sword towards his body. He managed to block it, but Issei kicked the blade up. It distracted him for a while, enough to give Issei an opening he found. He crouched on the ground and kicked his feet off the ground. As he was falling, Issei pounced over his body and grabbed his feet, flipping him and slamming to the ground. He stood up and dusted himself. The sword spun back down and landed next Issei embedding itself to the ground.

"I guess that means I get to be in whatever the tryouts was for."

He walked off in triumph, while the young man sat there rubbing his head. Issei walked back towards the headmaster's office before the girl from before came up to him.

"Whoa, that was nice, but how do you know how to fight? This school was made for people who have never fought in their lives."

"I don't know, but can you tell me something? What was the tryout for?"

"Its for candidates who will fight to wield the holy sword. The guy you just beat was last years champion and this year's tryout master. He's a guy with excellent grades and outstanding fighting skills, but you beat him like it was nothing. That was so cool."

Her eyes were shining and she looked impress, but Issei doesn't even know her name.

"Um, by the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Leona Naomi. Second year of this academy."

"I'm Hyodo Issei. First year."

"Oh? That means I'm your senpai."

"Yeah, I guess."

The pair kept walking towards the headmaster's office and entered it. He was sitting on his chair. He looked up and saw Issei. This room also had Saizen's insignia, but the wall behind him had it carved in the stone. The headmaster said

"Well, I guess this means that you will be able to try and wield the holy sword."

"Yeah, but I have a question. What is that sign on the wall?"

"That is the great Saizen's insignia. We founded this school because a man met Saizen-sama and fought beside him. Saizen gave him this seal to secure their partnership. Every year we host a tournament of the most powerful students in the campus, in hope Saizen-sama will enjoy this annual show."

Hey Saizen, did you know you were famous?

[Hmm, I don't remember. I don't have that great of a memory. I'm just glad that people recognize my power. See, I told you people love dragons, but something bugs me about this school. I just can't put my finger on it.]

The headmaster continued

"We hope that one day, we may meet another man that holds Saizen's seal. That would be a great celebration for the school."

"Is that so?"

Hey, should I show it to them?

[I don't think you should. I still have an uneasy feeling, so lets keep my seal a secret.]

OK then.

"Ah, OK. Thanks for the info."

The headmaster nodded and Issei left the room. Naomi-san was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and said

"Well, what happened?"

"He just congratulated me and we talked about Saizen's insignia."

"OK then. Let me show you the dorm rooms now."

They walked for a short while, before coming up on some rooms. They were lined up so that each room was next to another. He picked a room that was vacant and went it. It was pretty normal. It had a decent size bed, a wooden closet, and a desk. He thanked her for showing the way and closed the door. He sat on the bed and thought about his situation.

OK, so I'm at a school that based its education off some story, and helps people fight. The headmaster is kind of weird and Saizen is getting nervous about this school. Finally, the holy sword, Excalibur, is here. The only key to my return back home. Wonderful, I get to go to a school where a dragon I currently possess is worshipped and a dude is out for blood because of a little tussle. At least I met a nice girl. Time to get this whole thing over with.

He turned to look through the window. He saw the Sun's final orange light as it sank into the horizon. The orange sky slowly faded to dark blue and illuminated by the stars. He turned back to his bed and slept.

I wonder how tomorrow is going to be like.

**Ahh, finally. I finished. I had so many scenarios written and I kept deleting them. I finally chose this one since it resembled his school life. I wanted to let the setting be a school feeling. I'm sorry for the late update, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Tell me what I did wrong. Did I rush? Was I kind of off on the thing? Tell me on your reviews. I appreciate them.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I had to bust my head for this, but here you guys go. I hope you all like it. Review because it helps me write more.**

**One 'hell' of a trainer**

War with Hades has been tough right now. The alliance between fallen angels, angels, and the devils have taken heavy casualties. Kiba charged at one of the undead soldiers and slashed its body in half. He lunged at the approaching enemy and buried his sword into its body and slashed upwards. He spun around and slashed the head off the nearest enemy and retreated. He met up with Zenovia and Ross, and headed back to the base. Everyone was in the clubroom strategizing their next move. Vali leaned on the wall with his eyes closed, while Azazel and Buchou were looking at a map of the battle field. They suddenly felt a slight tremor and saw a creature coming towards the school. The body was lightly tanned, had large hands and legs, and no eyes. Its teeth were sharp and large with green ooze dripping off its tips. A behemoth was approaching them. Vali was going to have trouble fighting it off since the last visit they had, Vali was severely wounded. Vali wanted his revenge and walked out of door.

He walked towards the beast, but he suddenly felt a large surge of power radiating off the ground. The energy was familiar. He wasn't the only one that felt it. He turned to see the others running outside to investigate. The energy was getting larger, until it exploded in a red flash underneath the behemoth and destroyed its being. They looked towards the flash's direction and saw a man with a red suit and black hair. He turned and smiled at them. He mouthed something and disappeared. Who was that man?

**Issei's narration…**

Issei woke up to the bright sunshine and went to the wooden closet and dressed himself. He entered the school one day before the weekend. He put on his dark blue jacket and jeans on. He tied his shoes and walked out of his bedroom and headed towards the exit of the school. He was pretty close to the stairs that led towards the exit so he didn't get lost on the way. He opened the door and six girls were near the gate. He recognized them, since they were the group that he saved yesterday. They wore light blue armor all over their body, but their arms and legs were only covered by cloth. They turned around and saw Issei approaching them with strange clothes. A girl name Lily Gray asked him

"Issei-san, what are you wearing?"

Another girl named Nanami Hitsuyo said

"Don't be like that, it could clothes from his country."

The other four were girls were watching them curiously.

The girl on the far right was named Mary Hiro. She had short pink hair and blue eyes. She had a slender figure, but some people mistook her for a little girl due to her small body. She had a temper, but she learned how to control it. The one next to her was Kana Myzumo. She is the equivalent to Akeno-san in terms of cleavage, body, and sadistic personality. She had blonde hair and red eyes. Next was Natsumi Hiroshina. She was like Asia because of her caring personality and healing powers. Finally, there was Yuuki Renal. An average girl, but she has a split personality of someone who is extremely lustful. Her orange hair that was braided into a ponytail matched her green eyes.

They said hi to Issei and asked where he was going. Issei said

"I got a note from a friend of mine to meet him at the mountain over there."

He pointed towards the large mountain in the distance, the same mountain he met Verium and Seraphim. Lily nodded and asked,

"Would you like me to take you there? Its an awfully long journey there. I can easily fly you there."

Nanami interrupted and said

"Hey, I was going to ask him that. it's the least I could do for him saving me."

"Well too bad, I want to show my appreciation first."

"No you won't melon girl!"

"What did you say, cow breath?"

The insults went back and forth as they argued who would take Issei to the mountain. The other girls also joined in and asked if they could carry Issei to the mountain, but go blocked by another girl. The whole group was suddenly fighting about who would take to Issei. They went so far as letting their weapons do the negotiating, but Issei stepped forward and said

"Um, I was going alone. Sorry, but my friend said to come alone."

The girls looked at him suspiciously. He could guess what was all in their minds, for no particular reason. They all said

"Is it a girl?"

"No, not at all. it's a guy."

He chuckled to make them feel a bit calm, but they didn't buy it. They moved closer to him and gave him death glares that said 'if you're lying we will kill you'. Issei gulped and nodded. He walked out of the gate and sighed, the girls were giving him a hard time ever since he saved them. Ah, the actions they did to please him. He made a goofy face while he was walking down the stairs towards the town. He turned open the seals underneath his feet and fire roared to life. He floated up, then flew towards the mountain. He soared through the sky in a blur, and reached the top of the mountain in a matter of minutes. He jumped down on the green valley hidden by the mountain walls and approached the man waiting. It was Satan. He had his usual attire of red on him. Satan greeted Issei.

"Hello again, Hyodo-kun."

"Hi, but what's up with calling me up here? I already found the holy sword."

"Hyodo-kun, the holy sword is much stronger than you can comprehend. It takes 6 slashes from that sword to kill me. It is that strong, and what's more, is that the man wielding the sword is the angel, Gabriel."

"Gabriel?"

"He is currently the second in command of God's army. This whole era is 2 years before the Great War."

"So, why am I here?"

"You are here for training. I informed your headmaster that you will be with me for the next 3 months."

"3 months…with you?"

"That is correct. I'll be your trainer."

Oh god… Wait… never mind.

5 days later…

"Ugh… I'm going to die… after I just came back."

Satan walked calmly towards him and said

"Now, now, its not time for breaks yet."

Issei stood up again. It was time to endure some more of Satan's punishment.

**(A/N: I needed to skip the training up to the final moments of it. Sorry, if I do time skips. I hate them, but I have to have some space for the rest.)**

Its almost the end of his training, just 2 weeks to go.

He moved with a much faster agility than he used to, but the injuries he received was excruciatingly painful. He didn't have time to heal over the course of 2 months. The grueling months still lingered in his mind. The hellish training he endured was indescribable. The many times he used balance breaker was pointless since Satan's movement and power was many leagues ahead of his. Saizen and Verium couldn't help him in his struggle and he had to fight with his own power. This was like the training he did with Tanninim. Running and hiding everywhere, but in this case, running only. He only had his void powers, but they barely did any effect. He kept running with Satan trailing behind him.

"Hyodo-kun, you did amazing surviving my training. I suggest trying out your balance breakers again. Try Seraphim's this time, she could save your life."

Seraphim… I haven't even heard her talk ever since the merge. Seraphim, can you hear me?

No answer.

Seraphim, can you hear me?

A voice finally answered.

[I hear you. What do you want?]

I need your help.

[That's it? Alright. I just hope that you won't do those perverted acts again.]

No promises.

Seraphim said nothing else. Issei focused his power into the jewel and Sera's tattoo started to glow a red color. A voice was heard

"Balance breaker activated: Draconian Glacial Cavalier."

Issei opened his eyes and saw a great difference. There was a shield on his left hand that covered most of his left arm. The red jewel on the shield was shining with power. On his right hand, an extremely large lance was placed. The hilt of the lance had a large handle that covered his forearm, acting as a shield. The lance itself was long and had a very large range. He looked at Satan in surprise and confidence.

"You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Time to test it out, then?"

Satan charged and instantly hit Issei's shield. The sound of metal ringed in Issei's ears, but he didn't feel anything. He took this and hit Satan with his shield and followed it a lunge using his lance. Ice started to form around the lance and created a jagged armor around it. He slammed its tip on Satan's body, but he blocked it with his arms. He looked up and smiled before shattering the armor around the lance and breaking it. He was pushed back and his balance breaker disappeared. Even with all this training, he still couldn't fully control the power of his balance breakers. Satan charged once again, at the same time, Verium shouted in his head

[Use mine, and hurry!]

He did what he was told and focused on the jewel. Verium glowed a bright green and large crystal wings appeared on his wings. He stepped to the right and his wings made him speed up and he disappeared. He was used to this speed, but for some reason it felt slower. Satan looked at where he was now standing and smiled.

"You still have a lot to learn. Hyodo-kun. These last weeks, I will help you control and understand your partners' powers, but its time to rest. You've had it rough, so rest for tomorrow."

Satan walked away and disappeared. He left Issei tired and numb. His body was moaning in pain, and he agreed with it. He collapsed on the ground and fell asleep.

He woke up with start and looked around. He saw Satan sitting near the pillar cleaning his nails. He looked at Issei for a while before going back to his business. Issei's body was still sore, but he managed with it. He walked slowly towards Satan and sat down. He waited for him to do something and get on with the lesson. After 20 minutes of waiting, he finally said

"Well? Are we going to start yet?"

"Oh, of course, but I can't work when you don't have your balance breaker on. Choose a balance breaker and I will help you."

Well, I could improve with Verium, so lets start with that.

He turned on Verium's and the great red wings spread themselves out. Satan walked forward and examined his wings. He touched them and ran his fingers to feel its texture.

"Well, you chose a fairly easy one. The crystal are extremely malleable and can be turned to any shape or form. It is up to the wielder to come up with its forms. Its main function is to help its master fly at extreme speeds and increases their mobility by 800%, this is a versatile breaker since your imagination controls it. The weakness of this is the wielder's vulnerability when shifting a form. The process can be fast or slow, depending on the form chosen. Increased training allows you to make forms faster. Watch."

He touched the wings and a red energy flowed into him. He took his hand off it and walked towards the mountain wall. He outstretched his hand and red crystals flew out from thin air. He closed his hand to a fist and the crystals changed to spears. He opened his hand and jerked it to the right. The spears follow and hit the pillar with precise accuracy. He turned to Issei and said

"That's the rundown of it. Its fairly easy, but remember the saying 'easy to learn, but hard to master'. That is the kind of balance breaker this is. What's next?"

Issei was amazed at Verium's balance breaker. He should have given it more credit, but he continued. He tried Sera's balance breaker. The shield and lance formed on his hand once again.

"Ahh, the legendary Glacial Cavalier. This is an amazing breaker, due to its high defense and offense, along with great range. The shield is first. The shield is able to withstand almost any attack and protect the wielder with ease. It is also capable of freezing enemies. The shield uses the jewel and harnesses the wind around it and cooling it and combine atoms at an amazing rate, creating ice. The lance is similar to it. It is capable of using wind and cooling it to create a sturdy armor of ice around itself. It also has the ability to freeze any object it touches, given you have inserted enough power to do so. Hitting the ground allows it to create large pillars of ice. That attack has amazing range and covers 360 degrees of a certain area. The lance uses the wind to create hail that can spin around the lance and can do consecutive hits before the lance can hit the target. Oh, and one more thing. The shield and lance can create a powerful charge that makes you invulnerable for a few moments, forcing them to cope with the endless attack of ice and wind. That was a mouthful. OK, one more. I'm running out of breath."

The information Issei received was a bit much, but he understood the basic summary of it. The info he was receiving was kind of helpful, and they were somewhat easy to understand. He was about to change to Lightweight, but Satan stopped him.

"Hyodo-kun, I heard that the school you go to worships Saizen. Am I right?"

"Yes, but how do you know that?"

"I did reconnaissance. It's best not to use any of Saizen's forms or you will have a hard time coping with the tournament that is coming up."

"What do I do then? I only have Sera and Verium. I don't have anything else to use, but then again, they are already powerful."

"The weakness they both have is that they take away too much stamina. I trained you these last 2 months increasing your stamina and also your reflexes. Didn't you notice it?"

He was right, when he used the wings and sped up, he felt slightly slow. So that's why Satan kept hitting him with fast attacks, so he can get used to it and allow him to have faster reactions. Well, it was certainly a benefit, but it still hurt. He said

"Well, what else is there?"

"Have you tried using Verium and Seraphim together?"

"No, I thought I should, but you said they eat up my stamina, so it wasn't in my mind anymore."

"If you combine the twins together, the balance breaker will change to something entirely new. That will be your last resort, plus I'm predicting that it won't drain your stamina that much. Try it."

Issei was hesitant already. He already had this much power, what more could he need? Issei still had to do it. He looked at the jewel and let his void energy flow into it and disperse into the two dragons. The two dragons glowed a light gray and enveloped Issei's body. The glow changed his clothing, eyes, and his body. The light resided and Issei was covered in red clothing. It looked like he wore something that was like a robe, but it separated and formed a jacket that extended to the ground. His arms were covered with scales and his fingers had claws. His eyes were no longer brown, but a golden yellow.

"That suits you very well, Hyodo-kun. The personality change is also nice and takes a break from your perverted self, but your power is still fueled by the desire to have sex or boobs; you just don't show it. What will you name this balance breaker, since this is a new one I've never before."

In a calm, almost a muttering voice, Issei said

"Dragon's blessing. That's its name from now on."

"I see, good name. I don't know the mechanics of the balance breaker, so we should learn to use it first. We'll divide these last two weeks, so we can practice with each of your balance breaker."

"Satan, do you think I have too much power than I ever needed? I have 3 dragons inside me. They are able to fight a god to a draw or even a close victory."

Satan smiled at the question, and he said simply

"You're special, Hyodo-kun. You use your powers to help you reach a, somewhat, pure goal. Power is given to those with pure destinies and futures. You have a good destiny ahead, so fate has decided to give you the power you need to cope with your enemies that stand in the way. You yourself can solve the problems and make decisions, not your power. I'm sure that the rest you can figure out by yourself."

Issei smiled and walked with Satan. He spent the remainder of his training learning how to control his powers, and tried not to rely on Saizen for a while. It was still hard, but with new confidence, he made it through.

He flew back to the academy after being away for 3 months. He was absent after his first day was over, he had a lot of explaining to do for the girls. He reached the gates and opened them. He walked towards the wooden doors and entered the school once again. He looked around and saw that barely anyone was in the school. He went up to the headmaster's office and opened it. He found the old man sitting on his seat quietly. He looked at Issei with his calm eyes and smiled.

"Welcome back, Hyodo-kun."

"Uh, yeah. I'm back. Where is everyone?"

"Oh, they are all sparring behind the school. The tournament starts in a few weeks and the students are training with all they've got. You can check over there, since that is where the majority of the students are."

"Thank you, headmaster."

He closed the door and rushed down towards the back of the school. He found the door and opened it. The winds of battle greeted him along with the green grass swaying gently. He looked forward and saw many students fighting each other with a variety of weapons. He looked to the right and saw the girls. He walked towards them and greeted them.

"Hi everyone, I'm back."

They all turned in surprise and rushed Issei. They were hugging Issei passionately and some of them had some tears.

Lily finally spoke

"Where have you been? We were all so worried that something might have happened to you while you were at the mountain. We tried to go there, but the headmaster wouldn't allow us to."

"Well, I've been training as well. I heard the tournament is coming up so, I got a head start. Hehe…"

Issei rubbed his head and smiled, but that didn't matter compared to how his body was feeling. The soft feeling on his chest stimulated his senses and started to fantasize. His hand slowly reached for their chests, but something stopped him from reaching it. A shadow loomed over him and he turned around to see the same guy he fought and defeated, twice.

What was his name again? I don't remember it.

"Um, hi, what's your name again?"

The man got even angrier and swung his sword at Issei, but the swipe was really slow in Issei's view and he ducked under it. He back up a couple of feet to give himself and the guy some space. He asked once again

"Hey, what was that about? I only wanted to know your name."

The man growled and shouted

"My name is Gregory Hellshaw the Third. Remember that name because in the tournament, I will destroy you."

"Good luck with that dude. I already beat you during tryouts so its should be easy to do it again."

"Grr, I will make you pay for that defeat. You just wait because I will get my revenge on you. I swear it on my life."

He walked away in a large gait while Issei stood there. The girls approached him and they all said in unison

"Are you crazy!"

"What, he deserved it."

"That guy is one of the 5 most prestigious families that rule this land. If you insult one, you insult them all. You should have been more careful, since you just got a potential enemy on your hands."

Lily carefully explained, but Yuuki went in between her and Issei and whispered to Issei

"Do you want my virginity?"

The idea sparked Issei's interest in her. Yuuki was like a girl version of Issei, she understood his feelings. He nodded slightly and Yuuki dragged him towards the large meadow, leaving the other girls behind. The girls were slightly dense, but they caught on and charged after them.

Yuuki pushed Issei down and she slowly undressed herself. She was blushing and was drooling lightly. Her eyes were filled with lust as she pushed her bare body onto Issei's body. He could feel the warmth of her body and the softness of her oppai. His dream was about to come true. He was going to lose his virginity, but sadly, Lily tackled Yuuki. The other girls also dog piled her. She was struggling to get up, but the girls had demonic energy radiating off of them. They wanted to punish Yuuki so bad.

Issei looked at the situation and lightly chuckled. It seems that wherever he goes, he always gets involved with harem situation, but he liked it that way. The tournament isn't for another 4 weeks, so he wondered what to do in the mean time. There were lots of possibilities. He looked up to the sky and felt the wind blowing against his hair.

This journey isn't so bad. I still have a horrible feeling that something horrible will come though. I'm not the only one it seems. The headmaster was troubled as well, I could see it in his eyes. I wonder what the future will bring.

**Ahh, I finished it. 10 pages in one day. I'm proud of myself, but you are the judge of the story. Like it? Hate it? Could use some work? Tell me in the reviews. Oh, and sorry again for the time skip. See you in the next chapters!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello again. I managed to pull myself together and create a new chapter. This is relatively short since it only introduces the new allies/enemies of Issei. I'm sorry for not having one about Issei, but this helps the story progress.**

**Preparation **

A large figure rose from his seat. His armor gleamed as the light of the campfire strikes it. The armor was actually stone, but the sheer weight and durability allowed it to be in par with the strongest armor made. His hands were covered with a gauntlet that had runes written on it. His head was covered in a pointed red hood. The shroud of darkness only allowed his red eyes to be in view. The large sword on his back was unsheathed and the blades in each of its sides were triangle shaped, creating a series of teeth along its edges. He raised his left hand and signaled his horse. In the distance, a being moved in the darkness. It ran with amazing speed, and its mane and tail roared as fire radiated out. The horse galloped towards its master and stopped along side him. The horse gazed stared straight ahead, as his master climbed on its back. He grabbed the reins and the great stallion reared and galloped into the night.

His black robe waved against the wind, while his white eyes pierced the darkness of his hood. He placed his scythe on his back and turned away from the bloodshed he created. The battleground was painted with blood of many men who challenged his authority, and not a single body moved in his presence. He whistled and a black stallion galloped towards him. The feet of the stallion leaked a black mist as well as its mane and tail. The pair galloped towards their next destination. The trail of death followed his path.

Men died around him as he walked forward. They suffered from the disease he brought, as he approached the church. He raised his hand and a dark green orb formed. He thrusts the orb at the church, and the building exploded into dust. The people that took shelter coughed and wheezed as a green dust entered their bodies. The disease destroyed them from the inside, as he walked away. His brown robe flowed behind him and his green hood were the last they saw as they fell to the ground into darkness. He signaled his horse and the brown stallion appeared. Its mane and tail was creating a green mist around its being. The glowing green eyes of the horse and master looked once more to the dead men around them, then rode off.

He smiled as the environment destroyed itself as he approached. He walked calmly into the forest, as it shriveled to bare trees and sand. His path was soon cleared and the once lush valley and forests were now deserts, bare and lifeless. He snapped his fingers and a chestnut stallion entered the scene. The horse was the most normal of its other brethren. The man got up on his horse and looked up to the bright sun. His light brown armor, similar to War's, gleamed in the sun, as he and his partner rode across the newly made sand dunes.

**Hell…**

Satan look at the four portals in his throne room. He watched carefully at each of them, revealing the four horsemen riding towards a single destination.

"The horsemen have made their move, so it means I shall as well."

He turned towards the 6 seals on the wall and stretched his hand and called to them.

"Mammon, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Behemoth, and Belphegor. I call my six generals to my throne and prepare for war."

The 6 seals glowed a bright red and 6 people appeared. Mammon walked forward first, with his long brown robe. He had brown hair and green eyes, that looked rather normal. Leviathan walked out next. His hair was black that flowed to his neck and piercing gray eyes. He wore a black suit, similar to Satan's. Behemoth was next to come. He wore a bright orange coat that extended to the floor, with black under armor and pants. His blonde hair and dark red eyes scanned the room, but he said nothing. Belphegor appeared in his usual clothing. A long sleeved polo shirt that was unbuttoned and blue jeans. He slouched as he walked. He had gray hair and light blue eyes. He looked much like a teenager than a devil prince. Beelzebub came and walked with quiet steps. His blue hair was flowing and yellow eyes looked around and examined the situation. He had a green coat and white gloves on, along with black pants. Asmodeus was the last. He had extremely white hair and purple eyes. He wore a light brown polo shirt and blue jeans. The 7 princes all looked at each other and nodded. The time of war was near.

**Heaven…**

Gabriel watched the four mirrors and watched them ride. Something was coming, and he needed to be ready. He walked to the 6 large doors and called out their names.

"Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Raguel, Remiel, and Saraqael. My brothers, please heed my call and appear."

The 6 great doors opened and each stepped out an angel, or an archangel. Michael entered first. His blonde hair and golden halo exited. His golden wings matched his white robe. It had intricate designs along its edges. Raphael entered next. He wore the same robe as Michael, but his hair was blue and eyes were golden. Uriel came after him. He had white hair and green eyes. Raguel and Remiel came at the same time. They were twins, and the light pink hair and purple eyes could be found identical. Saraqael was the last. He wore a white coat with great golden wings on his back. The 7 archangels have assembled, and are ready to guide The Lord's army.

The powers have prepared for the inevitable fight. The horsemen rode towards one person.

All 4 have gathered and approached their destination. War was first to speak

"Hyodo Issei… A special boy who has control over 3 different dragons… The balance of the powers have shifted and battle will come in his location."

Death was next.

"He has caused chaos to the balance and shall be dispatched immediately."

Pestilence said slowly

"Hell and Heaven have prepared. Hyodo Issei is secondary concern for us right now. We must prevent battle between the factions."

Famine was last to speak

"If that is so, we must ride to the center of the battleground and destroy him."

The horsemen rode towards their new target. Each left a trail unique to each of them as they close in. The dark sky approached indicating a battle that will start at the beginning of the tournament.

**Its short I know. I had to look up in wikipedia (thank you) the names of each of the archangels and princes. Hope you all enjoyed this and please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello once again! I'm terribly sorry for the long update, but I finally started writing this chapter. (Thanks to some…'encouragement') Here is the next chapter. Reviews are appreciated.**

**War**

Issei walked back to his room and searched his closet. He was wondering where his old school uniform was. He wanted to wear it for the tournament tomorrow. He liked that uniform since he wore it during his whole journey. After hours of searching, he finally found it and laid it at the edge of the bed for tomorrow.

**Afternoon- Beginning of the tournament…**

Issei stood in the stands of the large arena. The walls towered over his head and were at least the length of 5 football fields. He was watching the balcony at the far right of the oval arena. The headmaster stood up from his seat and shouted to the audience. The crowd went hush instantly and listened to his words.

"Welcome one and all to our annual tournament and festival. I've seen many of my students work hard at their training these last 4 months, and I'm quite pleased. They have endured harsh training and pushed their bodies to their utter most limits. This arena will show the fruits of their labor. My young knight shall introduce the first two contestants who will fight. Yoshiro, if you please."

A man, clad in silver, walked next to the headmaster and nodded. He was rather tall and had light brown hair and green eyes. He looked very gentle and handsome, that some girls swoon within the audience. He said in the same volume of the headmaster

"Thank you. The students have certainly been more determined this year. The first person to enter is none other than my own apprentice, Gregory Hellshaw. His opponent shall be a young student that was recently accepted to our school, Hyodo Issei. Both of you please meet at the center of the arena."

Issei jumped up from his seat and into the arena. He calmly strolled to meet his enemy. The two boys were at least 20 feet away from each other when they stopped and glared at each other. The tension was rather unbearable for Issei, since he really wanted to end it quickly. He could feel the anger and hatred in Gregory's eyes, but he managed to keep his calm. Yoshiro finally said

"Let us begin!"

The air pressure around Issei blasted outwards as he charged at his opponent. He aimed his palm at his chest, but Gregory dodged to the right, letting Issei hit only air. Gregory brought down his elbow down onto Issei's exposed back. The force of the impact created a shallow hole on the ground that Issei occupied. He spun his body and swept Gregory off his feet, and letting his momentum help him stand up. He slammed his heel down and met armor. He dented it, but it didn't create any damage. He moved back a considerable distance and allowed 'Greg' to stand up. They had a short standoff before a blast of power from both sides erupted and they charged towards each other. Issei could see that he was going for a full on strike. This allowed Issei to get the advantage. His nimble frame can easily dodge predictable attacks. Right when they were about to meet, Issei vaulted over Gregory, spun around, and landed a hit to the head with his foot. Gregory floated in the air and Issei took this opportunity to dash towards the floating body and bury his palm on its back and release a powerful shot of void. Issei thought it was over since he managed to hit his armor at point blank range with a strong burst of void, but Gregory still stood up.

Gregory was angry now and his body started to glow a bright blue. His eyes changed to a sapphire blue. There were no irises or pupils, just pure blue light. It looked like a demonic transformation. His face was filled with anger and hatred towards Issei. He was watching him intently, and then, he disappeared. Issei looked around, but he couldn't find him. He suddenly felt a presence behind him and he turned to find Gregory's armored thigh meet his face. The force sent him flying and his body hit the ground three times as he rolled. His mind was already dizzy from the hit.

How did he power up so fast?

His eyes were cloudy and he suddenly had trouble standing up. His body was suddenly numb from one hit. Gregory was smirking as he strolled towards Issei. He suddenly had a large boost of confidence as he said

"What? You already got dizzy from a single strike to the head? Pathetic and I thought you were much stronger. I guess you underestimated me after two defeats I received. Bad mistake, Hyodo-kun."

Issei was starting to hate this guy, but he wanted to hold back so he wouldn't kill him by accident.

I guess just a burst of Verium's balance breaker wouldn't hurt. It should only take a couple of hits to win.

Issei silently thought out his plan and got ready. He focused his power towards Verium. The crystal on his hand started to glow and, in the next instant, large, red crystal wings appeared on his back. Issei gave Gregory a slight smirk and charged towards him. Issei changed the crystals to four large spears and they sailed through the air towards Gregory. He dodged one, but as the first one sang through his ear, a second spear pierced through his armor. The third and fourth bashed his shoulders and making him fall. He stared at the sky as the four spears floated above him and came plummeting down. Two landed next to his head and the other two next to his hip. The blades were so close to him that a slight movement could wound him.

Issei was walking towards the downed body, when a dark presence caught his attention. He turned and a large stony arm crashed onto his stomach. The wind in his lungs suddenly left his body and he was sent flying past Gregory and into the wall.

The audience turned to face the unknown trespasser. They saw a large figure with rough stone armor, a large axe, and dark red hood that covered his face. The sight of the being suddenly intimidated the crowd, including the headmaster. His presence created a sense of destruction that radiated from him.

Issei fell out of the hole in the wall and landed on the ground. Pain quickly flooded his body. He couldn't think at all. His body was even more numb than before. He struggled to stand up, but the pain overwhelmed him and he fell back down.

Ahh, it hurts. Saizen, please help me!

[Don't worry, I'll get you up.]

Power from Saizen managed to nullify the pain and he stood back up. The crystals disintegrated from the ground and reassembled on his back. He faced his attacker and he already judged its power was past Maou level.

War looked at the Issei with calm dark eyes. He slowly grabbed the sword on his back and unsheathed it. He wanted to totally obliterate him and he was going to do it with all his power to make sure that the boy will be afraid to crawl out of hell. A knight charged at him with blinding speed, but War merely extended his hand and the man crashed on his palm. War closed his hand to a fist and started to crush the man. He could already feel bones break and his breath was getting shallow. After a couple of minutes, the man no longer lived. He dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. His eyes of what was gentle and warming, was extinguished. War continued his advance towards his target.

Issei just witnessed the man Yoshiro with his bare hand. He was shaking with fear as the man approached him. Each step was a step closer to his death. Issei couldn't stop the fear creeping into his mind. He could probably go up against this man since he has three dragons inside him. Issei settled with that thought and let his wings spread. He blasted high into the air and dove straight towards him. The speed of his drop was intense for his body, but he was able to bear it. He got closer and closer, and then, he transformed his wings into a large half sphere in front of him. Spikes covered the sphere's surface, creating no opening for the stranger. He felt the impact and looked over the shield. It was stopped by his hand. He didn't budge or flinch. The man closed his hand and the crystal shield was destroyed. The man spoke

"Hyodo Issei, you have disrupted the balance of power and shall be dispatched from this world immediately. Prepare for your demise."

War threw a powerful punch towards Issei's abdomen and the connection of his fist sent Issei into unconsciousness. He fell to the ground without a single breath.

War was about to pick him up, when he suddenly was pushed back by a man. The man grabbed Issei and disappeared without a trace. He had no doubt that it was Satan himself.

**OK, done. Sorry for the long update again, but I hope you all enjoyed it. The ending seems rushed and I haven't written for a while so I'm sorry if its a bit rusty. Reviews are very much appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello once again! I hope the last chapter was thrilling, even though it was short. Since I managed to get off my lazy butt and do the previous chapter, I just had to write the next one. Anyway, enjoy and please review.**

**Awakening**

Satan managed to save Issei at the nick of time, but War's attack was too much for the young boy. He fled to his countryside mansion where most of his generals were waiting. He entered the room with Issei on his back and laid him on the couch. He ordered one of his servants to fetch him a medical kit. Issei took a major blow, since War's punch was infused with a special magic that immobilizes any creatures that are merged with a host. The three dragons inside him are now in a stasis. They will need an outside force to break the seal. A servant came back with a pure black orb on his hand and handed it to Satan. He grabbed it and held it next to Issei's body. The orb started to tremble then created a stream of white light that connected it to the inert body of Issei. This was a huge risk since it extracted Verium and Seraphim from his body, but it also gives Issei a full recovery. He hopes that the man he called for will come soon.

**Back in the arena… 2 hours after Issei's rescue…**

War walked towards 4 bodies in front of him. They were only girls, but from the knowledge he received from his scouts, they were close to Hyodo Issei. This gave him an idea. He raised his hand and signaled his brothers. The 3 other horsemen fell from the sky and landed with a resounding blast of wind. They watched their brother grab one of the bodies and let his power flow into her body. The body reacted with a series of spasm before calming down. The girl's eyes opened and her eyes changed to match War's. He turned her into his minion. The 3 other horsemen did the same to the other girls. They reacted the same and changed both their personality and eye color to match their master. They followed their masters to their horses and rode off, in search of Issei.

Yuuki and Lily were watching the whole scene while they were covered under the debris. They were buried under the debris due to War's sudden release of power. It demolished part of the arena. Some of the audience were buried, while others jumped down to the arena. They were mildly wounded and trapped, but they still had some power to escape. The coast was finally clear and the two girls lifted the large blocks of stone above them and jumped down. Yuuki was a hunting Valkyrie, so she was capable of tracking down Issei. She walked over and touched a piece of cloth ripped away from Issei's clothes. She focused her power, but when she finally locked on, a sharp pain pierced her mind and the location was lost. She grabbed her head to try and stop the pain. The pain soon subsided and she realized what stopped her; there was a barrier surrounding Issei's location. She managed to see the road leading to the barrier and signaled Lily. The two girls ran towards their savior, in hope he will be able to save their friends.

**Satan's mansion… 5 hours after the encounter with War…**

Issei was still unconscious, but was still alive and currently being healed by Satan's servants. Issei stirred and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around to observe his surroundings, but just moving his head sent pain throughout his body. Satan turned and told him

"Don't move right now Hyodo-kun. You suffered a devastating blow from War and your dragons are currently dormant due to his magic. I saved Verium and Seraphim in this orb."

He held the glowing white orb in front of Issei's eyes. The orb was glowing faintly and a white mist was radiating from it. Issei looked closer and saw two black serpents spinning within. He smiled and closed his eyes once again. Issei drifted back to sleep, while Satan was deep in thought. It was time to visit that group once again. He was almost positive that they were relatively close to Issei. He turned around to the sound of the door opening. He smiled and said

"You're finally here. He's sleeping right there. He will need your help when he fully recovers. I already explained the situation, so all you have to do is wait. I have to make a little visit. Hyodo-kun might not recognize you, so introduce yourself…Ddraig."

The man silently nods and sits across Issei. His red hair and green eyes were calm, but somewhere deep within him was filled with worry. Satan closed the door behind him.

**Present day… Occult Research Clubroom…**

The Gremory gang, along with Azazel, Michael, and Vali, were currently talking about tactics to beating Hades' army.

"We can divide my forces here, and the Chaos brigade will try a frontal assault since they are our strongest fighters. Rias Gremory's team will try to flank from both sides of the approaching army. Michael and his 12 Apostles will support Vali and the Gremory team."

Azazel was going over the plan, when a bright red light appeared out of the wall. It wasn't a devil sign anyone knew, and the man that stepped out was even more strange. They recognized him from before. He was the man that defeated the behemoth that was about to attack the school last week.

"Ahh, you must be the Gremory group. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lucifer, the original Maou. Please to make acquaintance with you all."

The occupants of the room stared in disbelief at the man claiming to be the original Lucifer. That man lived in the 12th century and died during the Great war. Michael stood up and said

"What makes you think we will believe that claim? Lucifer died in the Great war against the angels."

"Very observant, but I didn't come here to try and convince you all that I am Lucifer. That is the least of my problems, but I have a subject that might spark your interest. I currently hold Hyodo Issei in my custody. I also hold the information of his location."

The Gremory group stood up when the stranger said those words. The group had conflicting feelings about the topic. One part of their minds were excited, but the other side of their feelings said that it could be a lie. Rias finally spoke

"He died 3 months ago… We all know he died already, so don't try to fool us."

"Fool you? You are quite naïve, but I suppose some proof will clear that up."

He stood up and walked to a nearby wall. He extended his hand and touched the wall. The wall started to dissipate and change into a scene. Everyone stared in shock as the picture cleared up and they could clearly see Issei lying down on a couch. He was asleep and a couple of people surrounded his body. He was breathing and he looked very much alive. The scene soon disappeared and turned back to a wall. Rias ran towards the wall and touched it. Tears streamed down her face and dripped down to the floor. She saw Issei, who looked alive and well, in an unknown location. She turned to 'Lucifer' and said

"What do you want in exchange for Issei?"

She was desperate to get Issei back, and she wasn't the only one. They were already losing hope since the war Hades started could cripple all 3 factions, or in a worst case scenario, get wiped out.

"You are quite straight-forward, but I do not want any kind of exchange. I only came to tell you that he is in danger of dying…again. He was dealt a near fatal blow. The seniors of this room should understand this. He was attacked by one of the horsemen, more specifically, War."

Azazel and Michael's eyes widened in surprise and fear. They sat back down and put their fingers on their foreheads. Michael was first to speak

"The horsemen… They appeared at the beginning of the Great war. They are enforcers who keep balance in the world. They are the only beings capable of taking down a dragon single-handedly. They can easily overpower them without much effort."

The whole room plunged into silence as they heard those words. A being capable of defeating a dragon without having to use most of his power. Satan broke the silence.

"He is correct. The horsemen are terrifying beings. It seems that Hyodo Issei has broken the balance and attracted their attention. They plan to erase his existence off the face of the earth. They will try to use any tactics they can. Deception, seduction, or just pure force. The worst case scenario is that they will discover his location."

Kiba stepped forward and said

"Why are you telling us this? What can we do to even help him?"

"I came here because I recently discovered that this girl has the Power of Destruction. I hoped that this information was correct. Do you have the power?"

He was directing the question to Rias and she nodded.

"That is all I need to know. I will come back, but Hyodo Issei is in need of assistance. I bid you all farewell."

A face appeared on the wall that looked like a demon, but it started to distort and change to a swirling black and red portal. Satan entered the portal and disappeared. Rias tried to join him, but the portal shifted back into a wall. She cried once more, but this time, they were tears of joy. The others also felt her happiness. Zenovia and Asia cried, Kiba and Akeno smiled, and the others looked on. Vali seemed rather pleased that his rival was still alive. He wondered if he even got stronger.

**Satan's mansion…**

Issei stirred once more and opened his eyes. He saw a stranger across from him. He could easily his face and body. Red hair, just like Rias, and bright emerald eyes. His build was lean, but also muscular. He wore a red jacket and some jeans. He was probably in his 20s. There weren't any servants surrounding him, so he tried to sit up and face the stranger. A voice spoke in his mind.

[Hey, you alright partner? My memory is kind of fuzzy of what happened.]

Yeah, I'm alright. Satan managed to heal me.

Issei turned his attention to the man in front of him. He asked a simple question.

"Who are you?"

"That's kind of cruel you know. How can you not remember your very first partner."

"D-Ddraig!"

"The one and only."

"But, you're a man, not a dragon."

"Dragons can still turn into humans when a situation calls for it. Satan summoned me here and explained what was going on. It took him a lot of time convincing me that you are actually my partner in the future. I still have my doubts."

"I am. I'm a Sekiryutei. It just won't happen for another millennia or so."

"Well, whatever. I heard that you attracted the 4 horsemen's attention. Bad luck for you boy."

"The 4 horsemen? Who are they?"

"You need to study more in those futuristic schools of yours. The 4 horsemen are enforcers that over see the balance of power in the world. You obviously broke the balance due to the many dragons within you. They are terrifying beings that can easily take down any dragon they want. That includes Ophis and Great-Red. It takes two of them to defeat Ophis and all four to make even Great-Red bow down. They have near infinite power due to their existence being so old. You currently have little chance to defeat them, but there are some things that will give you a slight advantage."

"What would that be?"

"…Juggernaut Drive…Ultima…"

"Ultima… What is that?"

"The Juggernaut Drive's ultimate form. It is created by combining 4 dragons' balance breakers or you can combine their Juggernaut Drives. Each dragon have their own version of Juggernaut Drive. Your friend, Saizen, has the 'kindest' Juggernaut Drive. It does not take away any life and stamina consumption is minimal. The other two…" He pointed at the orb. "Are harsh. Satan also wanted me to join the group. That creates four dragons. You will be able to survive Ultima, but it must be activated in stages. First is Saizen, next is Seraphim, then me, and finally Verium. It goes from least danger to the most. Saizen will be able to nullify the majority of our power only to protect your life span. The stamina consumption will be extremely massive. At your current state, you will only last for about 15 minutes, so its best to defeat War."

"Wait, what makes you think that the other 3 won't help him?"

"War is the one that can obliterate a dragon user and a dragon. He is the second strongest, Death being first, and can easily destroy an empire with his own hands. The other horsemen won't stay for long, so War will be your only opponent."

"So all I have to do is kill him using all four of you guys? It seems easy enough. I've fought worse."

"They will also use other tactics. For example, they will control people who are close to you, and even use illusions to fool you. The horsemen are masters of both brute strength and deception. War can deceive you in many ways due to the evolution of deception over years. He acquired all those tactics and exploits them the same way humans will. We have to be careful for now, or until Satan comes back."

As if by staged, a black and red portal appeared in cue. Satan stepped out and glanced at Issei, then to Ddraig.

"Did you explain everything, Ddraig?"

"All of it."

"Good. Now we can get started."

Satan gestured to Issei to stand up and follow him towards the orb. Issei struggled to get up, but when he was about to fall, Ddraig caught him and supported Issei with his shoulder. Issei sat down with the orb in front of him. It was still glowing faintly, and when he reached for it, the orb was gradually getting brighter. He pulled his hand back in surprise and looked at Satan with a look that said 'what is this?'.

"This, is the dragon cell orb. This will allow the host to hold 4 dragons and can also benefit you when you are in Ultima. This will cut the total stamina consumption of Ultima by 50%. You will actually be able to last 30 minutes against War, but you must be careful since his attacks have the potential to force your dragons into stasis. You must minimize the hits you receive from him. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I do."

"OK, we can now begin the ritual."

"Ritual?"

"We must let the dragons adapt to the cell orb. In the orb, they will change to try and cover each of their weaknesses. The orb will also evaluate the user and determine what form of Ultima you will change into. Saizen and Ddraig will go in so they can start."

Ddraig nodded and his form started to change. His body started to glow, and soon became a red light that streamed into the orb. He could feel Saizen's consciousness starting to fade from his mind. He looked at his hand and saw a small string of red light connecting to the orb.

"It has begun, you will have to join as well. You will not gain consciousness for a while since the pain that you are about to witness will be immeasurable. Bear it for now. I will watch over your body as you begin evaluation. Good luck."

Satan picked up the orb and slammed it into Issei's chest. Issei screamed in pain as a demonic pain slashed its way into his body. The pain of taking in 4 dragons simultaneously. The pain was filled with suffering and death. He couldn't think or even scream anymore as it flooded his senses. His eyes rolled back and he was unconscious again. His body twitched once or twice before settling. Satan sat down and waited.

**Yuuki and Lily… 30 minutes earlier…**

The two young ladies walked on the rugged mountain pass and gazed over a canyon. The wind was slightly blowing and the clouds that loomed over them gradually got dark. They had to move fast and find Issei or they might get lost. The two girls jumped down from the pass and into the deep canyon. They landed on the floor with a powerful 'boom'. They recovered from the high drop and continued on their search. They were always running and climbing obstacles. Yuuki was constantly sending pulses of energy into the world. She could locate many indigenous life in the canyon, but she could not locate Issei. She already had the knowledge of a barrier around him, but she wondered why she couldn't locate a barrier. Something was up.

Lily fell to her knees and whined

"Are we close yet? My feet are killing me!"

"Not yet, and besides, we've only walked for an hour."

"My feet hurt! I need to rest."

"I do too, but we have to find Issei immediately or the others could be gone forever."

"Ugh, fine, but when this is solved, I better get my valuable time with Issei alone!"

"What makes you think that you're going to spend time with Issei?"

"Oh please, you know that he admires me the most."

"That is pure bullshit. I understand his feelings and desires. I actually try to make him release all that manly, savage instinct pent up inside of him…"

Yuuki stopped talking and started to fantasize about her and Issei in a bed. Issei was on top of her saying

"Yuuki… Let us become one…"

"Issei…"

The rest of her fantasy was cut off by Lily tackling her and slapping her on her cheeks. Right when Yuuki was about to fight back, they suddenly heard a loud scream in the distance. They recognized the voice and started to sprint full speed towards the source of the voice. They crossed the canyon with ease and saw a large house out in the distance. The rest the road was flat grassland, and they still had some energy left. They ran as fast as they could and closed the distance. They were about 40 meters away when they slammed into an invisible object. They moved back and touched the unseen wall. This was the barrier that blocked Yuuki's pulses from reaching Issei. They saw the door open and a tall man came out. He wore a red suit and had neatly groomed hair. He approached the two girls and stopped behind the border of the wall. His eyes looked up and down, as if by scanning their being. He finally spoke.

"Who are you two and how did you find this location?"

Yuuki answered in a confident voice

"We are friends of Hyodo Issei, so please let us see him."

"What makes you think that I have Hyodo Issei? And if I did, why should I let him see you. For all I know you two could be War's puppets."

"War… you mean the horseman?"

"Yes you twat."

"So those were the people who were in the arena… Please let us see him, we have need to tell Issei about our friends."

Satan was apprehensive, but his powers showed him no sign of control.

"Fine, but make the slightest movement that is a danger to Hyodo-kun, and I will obliterate you from existence."

The hidden wall materialized into a large dome and the two girls entered. The dome disappeared again, but this time, it hid the mansion with its illusion.

**Cell orb…**

Issei opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He could only see an endless space of pure white stretching across his field of vision. He looked down to his feet and saw that there was no ground. He was floating in an empty space. He tried to move, but his body won't obey him. He struggled again and again, but could not move. He suddenly felt a powerful surge of power in the distance. His body suddenly started to float towards the surge. His body closed in to the source of the power. He got closer, and he suddenly felt an extreme amount of pressure on his body. It felt like his body suddenly turned into lead. He was still getting closer, but this time he could see figures moving, serpent-like movements.

He soon saw 4 large creatures battling in the vast emptiness. Their massive bodies moved gracefully and their battle was intense. Two red dragons vs. two black dragons. They charged at each other with incredible speed and force. Each of their attacks released such powerful burst of energy. Issei was currently witnessing the ritual for the making of the Ultima. Two dragons were locked in a deadly struggle. A red dragon with glowing emerald eyes and a black dragon with blood red eyes held the other by the arm. They were pushing each other in pure primal rage. The other two clashed in speed as their two serpent bodies attempted to strike the other. Speed and power in perfect balance.

A sight never seen by any human or devil. 4 great creatures battling. The four great beings moved back from each other and bared their teeth as they watched each other. They pulled back their heads and lunged, but this time they didn't hit. Flames roared out of their mouths and straight into the center. Their fires illuminated the bland white space with a great orange flame. The flames gathered and became a large plume of inferno that rose several feet high. The fire soon died down and, from the plume, emerged a great red light. Issei's body floated towards the light, while the four beasts watched with indifference. He looked at the light and saw a ring. The ring was silver and red. There were many intricate at the side of the ring, but the most significant detail was the sign that was above the ring. An insignia of four great dragons roaring in the air. His hand moved on its own and inserted the ring into his finger.

Pure power blasted into his body and consumed his body. His body was covered by a huge crimson light that flew high into the air, creating a thick red column. His body created swirls of energy around him and he could feel the near infinite power he had just received. His clothes started to morph and shift. A red gauntlet on his left hand appeared. It was Ddraig's gauntlet. The item started to spread across his body. Issei thought it was going to go to Welsh Scale Mail, but he was mistaken. The armor covered only his whole left arm and a shield materialized on his forearm. It was the Glacial Shield with a few modifications and new designs. The shield had a dark red crystal in its center and the designs changed to two black dragons circling the gem.

Fire erupted around his body and spread down to his feet. He could feel cloth starting to hug his body. The fire started extending out of his body and create an orange and crimson cloth. The transformation was almost complete. Two pure crimson shoulder guards appear that obtained a smooth metallic surface and scaled spikes that jutted out of its surface. His outer clothing resembled the Crimson Reaper's lightweight, but durable cloth. Under the large coat was a thin layer of sturdy red armor. It had the Welsh Scale Mail design, but in a much lighter version to give Issei a large advantage due to his light frame. His shoes changed to black with orange lines that resembled flames. This creates fires around his body and also creates large amounts of propulsion in case of an escape.

His right arm was being covered by armor only at the forearm, while the rest of his upper arm was covered by the lightweight scale mail. The armor was slightly different than his left due to the overlapping metals. It creates the image of a scaled dragon arm, but much more durable. His fingers were sharpened to a sharp tip. His weapon appeared on his right hand. A great lance appeared on his hand. The color was still the same, but the lance itself was much more intricate and beautiful, as well as deadly. The hilt covered his forearm like the original, but it acquired armor-like scales with spikes that pierce over its smooth surface.

He suddenly saw two small orange serpents that swirled against each other in a diagonal direction. The two serpents met and a great red sword was placed on Issei's back. The Crimson Edge.

Issei gazed at his newly acquired gear. He felt so empowered that he could take on any god, but something felt missing. He was wondering what it was. It was something that could finish the set.

He felt a weird sensation on his back. It was like a caged monster waiting to be released, but he couldn't. He struggled to stop the weird feeling, but soon the feeling released by itself. Large wings erupted from his back and spread themselves. The wings' outer joints were covered by light armor that shows off its spikes. It was large, red, and a symbol of intimidation.

He finished the Ultima and the gear radiated an unchallenged power. He smiled at his power, and without even noticing, his eyes glowed an iridescent red. The four dragons watched in triumph as they saw their partner obtain a powerful piece of the world.

The dragons suddenly turned in another direction, their eyes wide open with fear. Issei also looked at the same direction. He saw a figure approaching him, but he was too far away to see any features. The stranger soon came in view, and in Issei's surprise, it was him. There were some significantly different features of his doppelganger. His eyes were pure red and the white part of his eyes were clouded with a gray color. He had a despicable smile on his face and his arms were crossed across his body. He wore Issei's Kuou Academy uniform. He looked like a darker side of Issei.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you got the Ultima, but the question is, are you worthy of it? You've done many horrendous things during your life. You were an enemy of all women. You are pervert. You killed many people, though you might not have noticed it. You were the cause of Asia Argento's death. You made your friends worry about your life when they saw you change into Juggernaut Drive. Other things you proclaimed as horrible is making your loved one cry and for leaving her. You gave her extreme sadness, and yet you are willing to bet your life, after just being revived from the dead, to try and reach her again. What will happen if you don't succeed? You will lose everything you have worked for to reach this far. What will you do, Hyodo Issei?"

Issei looked down and thought of his answers. He would have thought that these things in the past would all be behind him, not haunt him again. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. He spoke softly at his double.

"I may be a pervert… I may have done those things I do regret, but I have atoned them through my lifetime with my friends. I gave them strength and happiness. I saved many people, even my dear Asia. I have protected those I love, especially… My girlfriend Rias Gremory. I have gone this far, and I am determined to see through the journey. Any obstacle I face, I will knock it down and reach my goal. I will defeat War and Gabriel to obtain Excalibur. I WILL RETURN TO MY FRIENDS, AND NOTHING YOU CAN SAY WILL STOP ME!"

The other person closed his eyes and his jaw was in a frown. He looked up again and opened his eyes. A small grin was on his face.

"Bravo Hyodo Issei. You pass the evaluation. I've always acknowledged young fighters like you, but to do all this for a person, or rather, friends. I haven't seen so much determination for a while. I approve your possession of Ultima. Good luck Hyodo Issei, and may your dream be created into reality."

The stranger turned and walked away into the white void. Issei was left standing there with his new Ultima, however, they began to fade. His body started to feel light and he rose up into the air.

**Satan's mansion…**

The three people that consisted of Yuuki, Lily, and Satan watched Issei's inert body as they waited for him to emerge from the cell orb. There was an atmosphere of suspense in the room as they waited for the result of the evaluation. Issei soon began to move. The three moved closer to Issei. He opened his eyes and saw the three people staring at him. Their faces said the same thing. 'How did it go?' He simply smiled and nodded.

The two girls ran up and hugged Issei, while Satan sat down and gave a sigh of relief. Issei soon started asking questions about Lily and Yuuki's appearance in the mansion. His questions were answered by their story of the horsemen turning their friends into minions. They went looking for Issei and wanted to use them against Issei.

Satan came over and touched Issei's shoulder. He said

"The horsemen have done what I thought they would do. It is best to only sever the connection with each horsemen, though the horsemen will give your friends to War so they can leave. You only have to sever the connection with War. The best way is to destroy War's sword. It contains their controlled souls and with it broken, you will free your friends and also force War to fight you with his own hands."

Issei merely nodded. He was still shocked about the news. He was already starting get angry at War for taking his friends hostage. Satan said the words that triggered the start of a devastating battle to come.

"Hyodo-kun, War has come and has signaled the start of a battle with angels and devils. I cannot assist you when you encounter War, but these two shall. Its time to go."

Issei stood up and looked out the window. He thought to himself

I'm coming War, I will free my friends and send you back to the abyss and create fear into your mind like never before.

**Phew, I'm finally finished. It was really long and it took me 12 pages to do this. I think Issei was a bit OOC at the end, but I think its alright. I gave you all what you asked. I included Ddraig in the story. I also added the little bit with Rias and the others. It's a special treat to pairingslover for creating a story dedicated to me. I hope you all enjoyed this really long chapter. Reviews are extremely appreciated since I worked hard on this one.**


	7. Excerpt of chapter 7

**You have all asked for it, but I can only give you all so much, so this is an excerpt of the next chapter. It is not complete, but I thought you guys would like this. Please enjoy and review. **

**The difference in power (excerpt: An encounter with Kana)**

As Issei flew through the green valleys in an amazing speed, he passed many ruins created by War. The broken remains of villages ravaged the lands. Small fires were lightly covering the burn charcoal of houses. Saddened, he continued his flight.

[The price of the journey is hard and filled with sadness.]

It was Saizen who spoke and Issei nodded in agreement. The flight was filled with silence as they continued to follow War's trail, but a quick burst of power disrupted their flight and looked back at the ruins. He saw a brilliant white flash of light and decided to investigate. He landed on the burnt remains of houses and wandered around, trying to find the source of the light. He went into a clearing where it was clearly a center due to its circular and untouched by the ruin around it. A white column of light was shot to the sky in a continuous beam, while a girl with blonde hair stood over to watch it. She soon turned to see Issei with her piercing red eyes. Issei was shocked to find Kana here.

"Kana, why are you here?"

She merely turned and gave him a cold glare with her enchanting red eyes. Her hands opened and, without warning, shot a beam of strange aura. He managed to dodge it, but it grazed his cheek, drawing blood.

What has gotten into her?

She smirked, but said nothing and fired more beams of light. Each shot was fast and gave Issei very little time to react. They burned, but weren't very powerful. Another shot connected to his chest and sent him flying a couple of feet back, The shot packed a punch, but it wasn't anything major, until it suddenly exploded once more. He was thrown back again and went down to his knees. She approached Issei in a leisurely pace and aimed another shot.

Crap, I gotta think of something…Right.

He extended his hand and a red aura formed around it. He shot the energy and it perfectly connected. Her clothes started to rip and disappear. A ranged dress break he perfected, but Kana was one step ahead and she changed into an armored Valkyrie.

A red and white armor with a blood red cape. A lance on one hand and a shield on the other. She charged with explosive power towards Issei and slammed her shield on his chest. Verium did the quick thinking and transformed into the Crystal Lancelot and shaped the wings to block the powerful strike.

Crap…Thanks Verium.

[Now is not the time to relax, here she comes.]

Kana approached Issei with a sadistic smile on her face. They were at a face off. The wind silently howled and dust were swept. A moment of silence passed between the two fighters, before both two shockwaves exploded and they charged towards each other. They collided and soon exchanged blows. Each hit resounded with a shockwave testing each of their power and defense. Issei connected his fist to her chest while she hit his chest with her heel. They both flew back and charged once more, but Kana ducked at Issei's punch and swept his legs off the ground. She turned a full 360 and slammed her shield at the falling boy and sent him back.

She's tough.

He was right, but it got worse as she grew snow white wings and flew up to the air. Issei pursued her and instantly switched his crystal wings into 4 long spears. He extended his hand and shot the 4 spears towards her, but she expertly dodged each of them and closed the distance between them. They were only inches from each other and they looked at each other slowly. Kana lightly kissed his cheek before planting a kick at his stomach and sending him plummeting down to the ground.

Verium, where are you?

[Don't worry, the crystals are coming.]

What seemed like eternity of falling, was cut short as his wings returned and he was able to recover. He looked up and Kana still had the same smirk. He shot like a bullet towards her and punched her, but was blocked by her shield. She positioned her lance and pushed it towards his body. The wings managed to block the piercing power of her lance, but at the cost of being slightly cracked. The wing pushed the lance upwards and out of her hand. She smiled and flew back giving a few feet of space between them. She flashed her eyes and charged downwards. Issei did the same and was going at an extreme speed. He soon caught up to her and turned slightly to tackle her to a nearby structure of what used to be a castle wall.

The two fighters broke through the thick stone wall and crashed down on the other side. When the smoke cleared, Issei was on top of an unconscious Kana. Her armor was lightly cracked and he could see the bra through her chain mail under armor. He was blushing and slowly moved his hand towards her sweet and ample breasts. He gulped as his hand neared it, but right before he was able to grope it, Kana opened her eyes and stared at him, then to his hand and back to him. She smiled and put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He was having such a hysteric day dream in his head of him and Kana. She stopped just a few inches from her face and lightly whispered to his ear.

"Idiot…"

Issei didn't see the glowing white light just below his chest being made and the force of it at point blank range blew sky high and back to the ground. Kana stood up and turned at his fallen body.

"That was just too easy. I bet War would be happy if I brought you to him now. It would make his job much easier."

She smirked and looked down on Issei, who was wincing in pain, and laughed. She kicked him and he rolled back in pain. That hit was indescribably painful and he couldn't think clearly. His vision was getting fuzzy and he had trouble standing up. He slowly tried to stand up, but he kept at a crouched position with one knee on the ground. He gripped the pain and stood up. He struggled to stay up or even take a step.

[Hang in there Hyodo-kun. We can do this.]

Verium shouted encouraging words, but he could not do anything. His vision slowly cleared, but he saw that Kana's hand was charging up for another shot. The white aura started to glow brighter and it seemed that a small burst of electricity would jump out at random times. He could hear it crackling as Kana finished charging the attack.

"Goodbye Issei-kun. It was fun while it lasted."

She fired it and it ripped through the air towards the defenseless Issei.

[Issei-kun, pardon my language, but that bitch won't get the better of you.]

He was surprised that Sera even spoke, but he was also surprised at the new energy he just received. The ball of energy hit square on and it exploded, covering the area around Issei in smoke, covering his entire body.

She laughed in triumph and approached him, but something stopped her. Something that made her shake, it wasn't cold, but fear. She looked at the smokescreen in front of her and she could see red eyes shining through the smoke. The smoke suddenly cleared and revealed in a light red armor. A shield in one hand and a sword on the other. A flowing red scarf on his neck and a dragon helmet. She looked in fear as she saw what was similar to her, but in the form of a dragon. His eyes were lightly red and looked at her with a cold gaze.

[I told you that woman won't beat you. You should use this more. It can save you… but that doesn't mean I want to…]

Sera was surprisingly tsundere, but it was good that she was here. He turned towards Kana and slowly approached her, his head low and only the dark shadow that passed his face. Kana started to shake even more as she slowly took steps back, away from the monster that appeared, in her eyes. She charged two spheres on the palm of her hand and lunged at Issei with all her force. Issei dropped both the sword and shield and took on her charge head on. They collided and their bodies was enveloped in smoke.

**And that is the end of the excerpt. What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Put it in your reviews. **

**Its taking a toll on my writing ideas, and so far, I'm nowhere close to finishing it. Should I continue with this fanfic?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hello once again. Well, it took a while (you all have no idea), but I've finally finished it. Oh the excruciating experience trying to write this with my diminishing imagination, but for the readers, it was worth it. I do hope you all enjoyed this, with the hard work I put in it (I only tweaked the Kana fight for some errors, so it should be roughly the same with the excerpt). Review it, I appreciate them.**

**P.S.- 3 events in one chapter? OMG!**

**The difference in power**

Issei walked forward and faced Satan. Satan wanted to test Issei's endurance once he enters Ultima. The young boy has been through so much, but was he ready to handle a legendary power. Satan nodded and the young brunette released a large amount of energy and power. A great red column of light devoured his entire being as the transformation of the Ultima was beginning. It lasted only for a few minutes and the result was a remarkable sight. A boy that wore a crimson garb from head to toe. The sight was rather magnificent. The girls that were watching over the scene opened their jaws in awe. They had never seen Issei in such clothing, much less any armor.

Issei looked at Satan with a look that said 'does look good?'. Satan only smiled and nodded. They readied themselves for the test. The two combatants waited for a short moment before charging towards each other with blinding speed. Issei didn't equip his lance or sword. He was told by Satan to only use punches and kicks. Issei started off his attack with a straight punch at Satan's chest.

Satan was much more agile than Issei thought. He ducked underneath the incoming punch and slammed his palm on Issei's center. Issei felt a shockwave of energy passing through his body as it tried to absorb the attack, but was futile. He was sent flying and all he could hear was the air howl as he flew into a wall. He was buried into the wall and struggled to get out.

Satan charged once again towards the trapped boy. His right hand was glowing a bright crimson and power that radiated around it gave off a strange aura, which instilled fear into its target. He was rapidly closing the distance, but Issei managed to free himself. His feet erupted blood colored flames and sent him flying into the air. Satan's punch only hit air, but he recovered quickly. He closed his eyes and a large amount of energy started to gather. The ground began to tremble and the wind howled of power. Satan opened his eyes, which was nothing but pure red. The demonic eyes of the Maou gazed at his target. He disappeared into thin air as he quickly approached his tense target. His being appeared again in a blur, but vanished once again. He was already behind him, and he left the mark he intended. Issei felt a sick feeling in his gut and realized that Satan punched him. The attack was so fast and he couldn't detect it, even though he had Ultima, he was still weak without proper training. His power suddenly dropped in an instant. He was in the brink of unconsciousness, but he managed to recover and stopped himself before he could fall on the ground. He looked up and saw him disappear again.

Ugh, he really isn't going to hold back. This so much worse than the last one.

Satan flew with devastating speed and turned their distance to nothing as he faced Issei. The two looked each other in the eye before they collided in a flurry of punches and kicks. Each block and hit emitted such powerful shockwaves to shake the earth and create such powerful winds. Their spectators watched in awe as the two beings fought with such intensity. Satan never showed his power like this before unless it was against angels. Bursts of energy flashed their eyes as it mimics the sound and power of thunder.

Satan sent his foot down at Issei's chest, but Issei managed to dodge the attack and send a punch back. Satan twisted his body and barely dodged the punch as it sends a powerful shockwave into air instead of him absorbing it. He put both arms around Issei's waist and grappled him, before diving straight down to the earth. They could feel the wind rush through their ears as they approached the green landscape below. Issei could escape the steel grip he was trapped in, but right before he could close his eyes, his body moved without the consent of his mind and rotated him and Satan. His body ignited to flames, causing Satan to lessen his grip, and allowing Issei to slip out. His body still did not obey his will as it did something rather impossible for Issei. He twirled his body with amazing agility and grace as he positioned himself against his opponent. He was able to switch his position from being upside down to a pile driver position in a matter of seconds.

What the? I didn't want that, but that felt so COOL!

They slammed into the ground as smoke and dirt enveloped their bodies. The spectators leaned closer to see the result of such a powerful dive.

The smoke started to fade, but a shadow was already moving. The shadow penetrated through the wall of fading smoke to reveal that it was Issei being thrown back. He landed on the grass skid a few feet before stopping, out of energy and back to his normal form.

Satan emerged from the mist in his more 'humane' form and slightly smiled.

"Looks like we have some work to do, don't you think?"

Issei shuddered of the weeks to come.

**-4 weeks later-**

Issei crashed to the ground once more and looked up at his trainer. The past 4 weeks have been hell (pun intended), but he did see considerable results, but not enough to be comparable to Satan. They did discover one thing, which was to activate the Ultima without the massive consumption of stamina. Issei had to enter balance breaker in stages. Saizen, Seraphim (Sera), Ddraig, and Verium, but he had to do this in the heat of battle.

Satan walked up to him and extended his hand out. Issei grabbed it and pulled himself up.

"Well, you worked hard than anyone I've ever encountered. You've improved, but can you handle the Ultima yet?"

"No, not yet, but the training was too intense. Why would you make me do this?"

He was so exhausted these last four weeks that his body was finally ready to give up. The sword training involving Saizen and one of Satan's generals was hectic, due to the fact that all he did was try to stab and slice him to bits instead of actually helping him, but at least he did get a few pointers. He was much better in swords, but still inept at higher techniques. He also was given training on hand to hand combat due to only attack with brute force, so he and Yuuki trained, but in some occasions, Yuuki would purposely throw a sparring match in hopes to give Issei a chance to use her body and Issei would oblige, but Lily would always ruin the moment for both of them.

The dragons would also help during the training. Verium taught Issei new techniques of how to fight in the sky, while Sera, begrudgingly, taught him how to create a powerful defense against a variety of attacks, courtesy to one of the other generals. Ddraig, he had enough experience with, but with Saizen, he had trouble.

He had many forms to choose from, but he only had experience with the Lightweight variant of his forms. It was similar to using Triaina with all the Evil Pieces. He still didn't try to use the other forms, but with good reason. He didn't explain, but they respected it.

The training was relatively short, but extremely painful. They crammed every bit of knowledge into his mind and it soon became second nature to him.

Satan approached him and told him that he should go and search for his friends. Yuuki and Lily did mention that War took their friends and turned them into his minions.

"We will follow you once I have summoned my forces and you will most likely meet angel scouts. Be sure to lead them away from us or all of us might be targeted by War and the Angels."

He nodded and walked off. Yuuki and Lily waved goodbye as Issei turned to the Winged Lancelot and soared away from them, determination in his eyes, but Satan stopped him again.

He turned around to see what it was.

"Hyodo-kun, there will be many strange things happening in the land. It will be mostly caused by War's influence. Be careful and watch out."

He handed Issei a small orb that he put in his pocket.

"If you have anything you need, contact me with this."

Issei nodded and flew away.

**Encounter with Kana…**

Issei passed many mountains and valleys, but saw no sign of any angels. He flew across the valleys and he already saw the ruins created by War. The broken remains of villages ravaged the lands. Small fires were lightly covering the burn charcoal of houses. Saddened, he continued his flight.

[The price of the journey is hard and filled with sadness.]

It was Saizen who spoke and Issei nodded in agreement. The flight was filled with silence as they continued to follow War's trail, but a quick burst of power disrupted their flight and looked back at the ruins. He saw a brilliant white flash of light and decided to investigate. He landed on the burnt remains of houses and wandered around, trying to find the source of the light. He went into a clearing where it was clearly a center due to its circular and untouched by the ruin around it. A white column of light was shot to the sky in a continuous beam, while a girl with blonde hair stood over to watch it. She soon turned to see Issei with her piercing red eyes. Issei was shocked to find Kana here.

"Kana, why are you here?"

She merely turned and gave him a cold glare with her enchanting red eyes. Her hands opened and, without warning, shot a beam of strange aura. He managed to dodge it, but it grazed his cheek, drawing blood.

What has gotten into her?

She smirked, but said nothing and fired more beams of light. Each shot was fast and gave Issei very little time to react. They burned, but weren't very powerful. Another shot connected to his chest and sent him flying a couple of feet back, The shot packed a punch, but it wasn't anything major, until it suddenly exploded once more. He was thrown back again and went down to his knees. She approached Issei in a leisurely pace and aimed another shot.

Crap, I gotta think of something…Right.

He extended his hand and a red aura formed around it. He shot the energy and it perfectly connected. Her clothes started to rip and disappear. A ranged dress break he perfected, but Kana was one step ahead and she changed into an armored Valkyrie.

A red and white armor with a blood red cape. A lance on one hand and a shield on the other. She charged with explosive power towards Issei and slammed her shield on his chest. Verium did the quick thinking and transformed into the Crystal Lancelot and shaped the wings to block the powerful strike.

Crap…Thanks Verium.

[Now is not the time to relax, here she comes.]

Kana approached Issei with a sadistic smile on her face. They were at a face off. The wind silently howled and dust were swept. A moment of silence passed between the two fighters, before both two shockwaves exploded and they charged towards each other. They collided and soon exchanged blows. Each hit resounded with a shockwave testing each of their power and defense. Issei connected his fist to her chest while she hit his chest with her heel. They both flew back and charged once more, but Kana ducked at Issei's punch and swept his legs off the ground. She turned a full 360 and slammed her shield at the falling boy and sent him back.

She's tough.

He was right, but it got worse as she grew snow white wings and flew up to the air. Issei pursued her and instantly switched his crystal wings into 4 long spears. He extended his hand and shot the 4 spears towards her, but she expertly dodged each of them and closed the distance between them. They were only inches from each other and they looked at each other slowly. Kana lightly kissed his cheek before planting a kick at his stomach and sending him plummeting down to the ground.

Verium, where are you?

[Don't worry, the crystals are coming.]

What seemed like eternity of falling, was cut short as his wings returned and he was able to recover. He looked up and Kana still had the same smirk. He shot like a bullet towards her and punched her, but was blocked by her shield. She positioned her lance and pushed it towards his body. The wings managed to block the piercing power of her lance, but at the cost of being slightly cracked. The wing pushed the lance upwards and out of her hand. She smiled and flew back giving a few feet of space between them. She flashed her eyes and charged downwards. Issei did the same and was going at an extreme speed. He soon caught up to her and turned slightly to tackle her to a nearby structure of what used to be a castle wall.

The two fighters broke through the thick stone wall and crashed down on the other side. When the smoke cleared, Issei was on top of an unconscious Kana. Her armor was lightly cracked and he could see the bra through her chain mail under armor. He was blushing and slowly moved his hand towards her sweet and ample breasts. He gulped as his hand neared it, but right before he was able to grope it, Kana opened her eyes and stared at him, then to his hand and back to him. She smiled and put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He was having such a hysteric day dream in his head of him and Kana. She stopped just a few inches from her face and lightly whispered to his ear.

"Idiot…"

Issei didn't see the glowing white light just below his chest being made and the force of it at point blank range blew sky high and back to the ground. Kana stood up and turned at his fallen body. He was lightly smoking from the heat he just felt.

"That was just too easy. I bet War would be happy if I brought you to him now. It would make his job much easier."

She smirked and looked down on Issei, who was wincing in pain, and laughed. She kicked him and he rolled back in pain. That hit was indescribably painful and he couldn't think clearly. His vision was getting fuzzy and he had trouble standing up. He slowly tried to stand up, but he kept at a crouched position with one knee on the ground. He gripped the pain and stood up. He struggled to stay up or even take a step.

[Hang in there Hyodo-kun. We can do this.]

Verium shouted encouraging words, but he could not do anything. His vision slowly cleared, but he saw that Kana's hand was charging up for another shot. The white aura started to glow brighter and it seemed that a small burst of electricity would jump out at random times. He could hear it crackling as Kana finished charging the attack.

"Goodbye Issei-kun. It was fun while it lasted."

She fired it and it ripped through the air towards the defenseless Issei.

[Issei-kun, pardon my language, but that bitch won't get the better of you.]

He was surprised that Sera even spoke, but he was also surprised at the new energy he just received. The ball of energy hit square on and it exploded, covering the area around Issei in smoke, covering his entire body.

She laughed in triumph and approached him, but something stopped her. Something that made her shake, it wasn't cold, but fear. She looked at the smokescreen in front of her and she could see red eyes shining through the smoke. The smoke suddenly cleared and revealed in a light red armor. A shield in one hand and a sword on the other. A flowing red scarf on his neck and a dragon helmet. His breath was long and deep as small bursts of flames were expelled from his mouth. She looked in fear as she saw what was similar to her, but in the form of a dragon. His eyes were lightly red and looked at her with a cold gaze. The gaze of which instilled fear to all who challenged it.

[I told you that woman won't beat you. You should use this more. It can save you… but that doesn't mean I want to…]

Sera was surprisingly tsundere, but it was good that she was here. He turned towards Kana and slowly approached her, his head low and only the dark shadow that passed his face. Kana started to shake even more as she slowly took steps back, away from the monster that appeared, in her eyes. She charged two spheres on the palm of her hand and lunged at Issei with all her force. Issei dropped both the sword and shield and took on her charge head on. They collided and their bodies were enveloped in smoke.

Within the smoke raged a battle between power and defense. Issei pushed with all his might as he tried to counter Kana's attack, but Kana was starting to dominate in their struggle as she slowly pushed Issei down to his knees. Issei wasn't ready to give up, not like this. With the little time he was given as Kana revealed a small amount of hesitation, he swept her legs under her and caused her to fall. He moved with great agility and grabbed her body and slammed it to the ground. She faded into unconsciousness and ended the battle.

It took a few hours, but he managed to wake Kana up. He was cautious in any case she was still brainwashed by War, but her actions confirmed that she wasn't anymore.

"Issei-kun? What are you doing here?"

She looked around to survey the environment and the situation. She soon came to a very out-of-the-world realization.

"If you wanted to run away with me, all you had to do was ask."

…She completely misread the situation.

Issei nearly fell back at her really random conclusion, but he went ahead to explain the real situation to her.

"So, that's why I feel such a horrible ache on my back. Well, I'll help you in anyway I can."

"Thanks Kana, but don't push yourself too much. Go back with Yuuki and Lily, they should be able to treat you."

"Right. Thanks for the heads up."

She grew her white wings and started to fly upwards, before blasting towards the direction of where Yuuki and Lily resided.

**Shadows…**

He sat down for a while, trying to catch his breath from the fight. She was probably one of the toughest opponents he's ever faced. He soon got back up and returned to the glowing beam of light on the city center. It was piercing the sky and creating a large halo over the village. He carefully approached the source of it to find a glowing white orb.

[This can't be good.]

Verium sounded worried, and that usually was never a good thing.

What is it?

[It seems that War has gotten hold of a dragon cell. Remember the orb Satan had? This is the same, but the beam is something I have not seen before.]

Sera chimed in and said in a confident voice.

[This is a reaction to other dragon cells within a specific area. They must have spread these out to basically create a net to catch a dragon, or more specifically, you Issei-san.]

M-me?

[Why else would it be here?]

_[She has a point Hyodo-kun.]_

Should we break it then?

[Best way to do it.]

Issei returned to his normal state and approached the cell. He focused and an aura started to form. He aimed straight at the orb and fired, but as the demonic energy connected, it changed color and stopped firing the beam. It started to glow with red energy and cracked itself open and exploded, showing a being that was covered from head to toe in black. It wore a long tattered red scarf and pure red eyes. It seems to be looking at itself then the surroundings.

It turned towards Issei and stared at him. It was very intimidating, but Issei also stared back. The being finally started to move towards him in a sluggish gait, but then a shockwave resounded and it was gone. He looked around to find the creature, but with no luck.

Looks like its gone no-

The creature planted a powerful punch on his cheek and sent him to the other side of the wall. The creature was flexing its fist to see what this was and vanished once more. Issei stood up and rubbed his cheek. It really hurt, but the question was why did it attack?

The creature appeared in front of Issei about 10 feet away and looked at him again. This time Issei was ready and he wasn't going to be fooled. He changed to Winged Lancelot and readied himself. The creature just stood there. Issei could see movement near the creature as shadows of trees and ruins gave life to more of these strange creatures. The total creatures he is now facing are four and he could not gauge their power individually since he hasn't fought them.

They each growled lightly and charged. They were extremely agile with the way they traverse the ruins between them, almost like a beast. It seems at the cue of his thought, one of them started to morph to a feline like beast mid jump. It landed with its new body, but still had the same color and red eyes. Large canines protruded from its upper jaw and growled much like tigers. It circled him and the other shadow beings arrived. They looked much different now. One had a long black blade on its hand, the next one still looked normal, while the last one had its arms deformed to large black claws.

Issei was starting to doubt his chances. He was usually good with 1 on 1 situations, but 4 vs. 1 was very unfair.

Without warning, the shadow with the sword attacked with blinding speed. Issei spawned his sword and blocked his strike, but he jumped on Issei's sword and flipped back into the air, positioning himself for another strike in the air. The blunt end of his sword shot out a black smoke and propelled him straight back at Issei. He blocked the strike again, but he could feel the power within that attack. The shadow landed and relentlessly attacked Issei with power slashes and graceful combos, while Issei blocked and could only do nothing but move back against the fast strikes. The swordsman flipped backwards and another shadow appeared right under him and punched Issei's sword, sending it flying out of his hand. He then started to barrage Issei with powerful hits combining punches and kicks to create a powerful combo at its now weaponless enemy. He finished the attack with an uppercut and a roundhouse kick to the stomach which sent Issei down and backwards.

The next two fighters charged at him and showed no mercy as well. The mace user attacked Issei with bone crushing force and with a mix of martial arts. He couldn't control his wings while blocking, so they disappeared. He was now an ordinary low class devil without any defense. The mace user continued his assault and slammed his mace into his chest and sent him flying, where the black tiger pounced on him and pinned him to the ground with strength expected from a creature. He was in a bad situation, but luckily, Verium came to the rescue. The wings exploded back to life and impaled the tiger with extraordinary piercing power that made the shadow start to burn and vanish. He slowly started to rise and looked at them and did what Satan always told him. Analyze the enemy.

They had flawless teamwork by the judge of that switch between the swordsman and the other shadows. They seemed to also have good communication, but without even talking. He didn't finish as they all charged at him with powerful attacks following them, but Verium had different plans. He controlled the wings without Issei will and transformed them into small shards and sent the million or so downrange towards the shadows. The shadows expertly dodged them, but they were still hit by them and was buried within their bodies.

Verium, what was that?

[You'll see in a second.]

They continued their charge, but something stopped them. They turned and saw the shards that missed sink into the ground and create a rumbling within the ground. They all looked down and a large towering shard exploded within the ground and impaled the four shadows. The crystals within their bodies started to expand and rip their bodies apart. They were destroyed similar to paper burning as they were fading. Issei felt great relief flooding his body, but also indescribable pain. He fell to the ground and fainted, once more turning back to his weakened form.

**Black rain…(A/N: Warning, I listened to Uninstall and I felt so sad while I was writing. Will talk a lot of death and misery, if you're not in the mood to cry, skip! Other than that enjoy.)**

He soon woke up to see that it was already night and stood up. The pain he felt hours ago turned to only a slight ache. He at least felt great improvement on his healing. He looked around and opened his wings once more. He started to fly upwards and continued following the trail.

He found another ravaged village and went to investigate. There wasn't a sign of any survivors or a dragon cell. He continued to investigate and found a hut that wasn't very damaged. He entered and looked around. It was covered in a black liquid that was splattered all over the walls, and he also saw a small child at the very back. He could hear her lightly sobbing and approached her.

"Hey, are you alright?"

He extended his hand out and tried to touch the girl, but she said before he touched her.

"Please…Stay away…Don't hurt me…"

She was sobbing and Issei touched her shoulder. She was cold and shivering. This black liquid was sapping her heat away. He instinctively picked her up and carried her, but when he tried to walk away, the liquid became hard and prevented him from moving. He struggled to walk from the quicksand-like liquid. He opened his wings and moved forward and finally reach the door.

He walked out to the warm night and set the young girl down near another hut. He activated his aura and burned some wood to keep her warm. A few hours passed before the girl started to stir. He looked for any sign of her waking up, but she was crying again, a black liquid slowly exited her closed eyes and fell to the ground. He was concerned with her and held her in his arms, in attempt to stop her from crying more of such a disgusting liquid. She started to stop and open her eyes. A light yellow with gray, as the moonlight started to beam down, he could see the rest of her features. A short gray hair and pale skin.

She stared at him with hollow eyes, void of purpose or resolve. She raised her hand to his cheek and slowly said…

"Please… I can't bear it anymore…It was my fault…"

Issei didn't know what she was talking about, and so he laid her down and investigate the hut again. He entered it to find a horrible tragedy. A woman and man sprawled on the floor looking as if reaching for the door to escape. He walked over and touched if they had a pulse, but they were now lifeless corpses.

He got out and checked the other destroyed huts. The black liquid that splattered the walls started to sink slowly into the ground and revealed pale skinned corpses that fell helplessly to the ground. He tried not to vomit and walked back to the campfire.

He stared at the girl for a while before sitting down and waited the night in silence.

He woke up to see that it was raining and so, he took the young girl and went inside a hut with a roof. He watched the rain pour down, while the girl slept.

Is this what Satan meant… The shadows… This…

He was pondering, when he observed the rain closely. It was that black liquid again. He turned to the girl and saw her crying, but even more, she was standing up, head low, and her breathing wavered.

What the…

That was his final thoughts before the girl tackled him to the ground. She pinned his arms with her small arms and looked at him once more with her eyes. She cried again and let her tears drip on his face. Surprisingly, she finally spoke with sense and she directed it to him.

"Please sir, kill me. I can't bear this anymore…"

She spoke with resolve once more, but Issei only turned his head.

"Death… It is not something you can use to escape your burdens… The pain it creates and the misery it causes."

"My misery…I killed them…I should have the same fate as them!"

"I don't kill those who have no control or no malicious intentions over themselves."

"If you say those words, then kill me."

Verium spoke in his mind.

[The black rain… The liquid of death… A force of which kills those who fear it, but shows mercy to those ready to accept it.]

Issei sat up without much effort against the girl's weak strength and stood up. He walked outside and felt the black liquid touch his cheek and slowly run down back to the ground. The girl slowly walked out and hugged Issei.

"P-please…Kill me…My tears will never stop until I'm at the hands of death. Take away my pain that is cursing me"

Her words came out between her sobs. She cried at her memory, but worse, she cried because she wasn't taken as well. Her family, her friends, all gone by the black rain.

"I can't keep going back to sleep, its killing me with misery and makes me relive that horrid event. Just cut my life, and I promise, I'll be alright…"

Issei was split in this decision. He had many conflicting feelings for this, but either choice would end horribly. The decision was hard, but he had to choose one. He didn't want to kill her, but saving her would be problematic.

His choice…

**Well that's the end of the chapter. Since my ideas are getting slimmer by the minute, I would like some help. What ideas do you guys have that can keep the flow of the story, but also make it original? PM me your ideas (Thanks to Lancelot Seiten 1 for the idea). Hope you all enjoyed and please review. It helps me keep going.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello once again! The support you all have given is really great, and I appreciate them. I finally got up and readied myself to make this, granted it won't be very long like the last one. I already have the next chapter in mind and should have it done either later today or tomorrow. Either way, I hope you enjoy this one. **

**The 3 guardians**

Issei woke up and looked to his right, where a sleeping girl laid just a few feet away. She was sleeping peacefully, but was suddenly awakened by the sound of thunder in the distance. Issei turned to the dark clouds looming in the distance and watched it, but found something abnormal about it.

"Hey, do you notice something weird about those clouds?" Issei asked the girl.

"Umm, I don't think so, but I do have a bad feeling about it." She responded, rubbing her eyes to get a clearer look at the clouds.

They watched it get closer, and also confirming their suspicions. A streak of bright red lightning painted the sky for a brief moment, before disappearing and revealing a strange black and red figure was high in the sky, when it suddenly stopped and took a sharp dive towards them at a blazing speed.

Issei picked up the girl and ran, barely able to dodge the attack and managed to let the figure hit the shack they were leaning a few moments ago. They see another streak of lightning piercing the black sky, but this time it was yellow. Another figure came and dove right at them.

Issei ran again and dodged the attack, but it wasn't over. Once more, a streak of blue lightning came and so did a figure diving at them. He dodged once more and looked up. There were no more lightning strikes, so he turned his attention to the three figures that missed their marks, while still carrying the scared girl.

The three craters they made were covered in smoke, disallowing Issei to see them clearly, but their silhouettes. The suspense of their identity was finally destroyed and shock came to Issei's face.

He saw 3 beautiful girls that he was too familiar with. Mary was the first to appear. She wore a black and red robe that ended at the upper part of her thigh. She wore black armored boots that came up to the knee. She had an excited f face and seemed itching to fight him. She held a shining silver katana on her right hand, that glowed with the aura surrounding it

Nanami was next. She looked identical to Mary in terms of clothing, but she had a yellow robe and golden boots. She wore a sadistic grin in her face that was itching to spill Issei's blood. Both of her hands contained curved daggers that glowed a yellow aura.

Last was Natsumi, who wore a dark blue robe and light blue and black boots. She smiled at Issei with mockery and had the same face that wanted to see his blood splatter. Her hands were covered by clawed gloves.

The four stood in a stand off, preparing for someone to make move. It almost felt like time slowed down, when Mary shot straight at Issei and aimed at his chest. Issei stared in surprise as she closed the distance in an instant. Mary thrusts the blade at him, but he managed to dodged to the right.

Issei puts the girl down and told her to hide. She nodded and hid behind a large rock, watching what would happen next.

Issei turns back his attention to his three enemies. Mary wasted no time and lunged at him once more. He dodged and summoned his Crimson Gauntlet.

"Boost, boost, boost, boost, boost." He yelled as the gauntlet increased his power with each word.

Mary swung her sword at him, but he blocked it with the gauntlet and threw her back, before punching her in the chest, causing her to fly back. He knew it wouldn't keep her down for long.

He suddenly felt a chill and immediately ducked under Nanami's daggers and spun around to sweep her legs off the ground, but she thought ahead and flipped backwards to avoid the attack, also hitting Issei right below the chin. She gained some distance, while Issei sat on the ground, rubbing his chin. She ran towards him and aimed her daggers at his throat. She slashed, but Issei managed to block it with his gauntlet. They were struggling with each other, trying to overcome each other's strength. He smiled, when his body was suddenly engulfed in a red light and he was covered with the Welsh Dragon Scale-Mail.

He delivered a powerful right hook at her hip and sent her flying. Within the mask, he was smiling, but when he saw her get up like it was nothing wiped it off. He turned around at the sound of rubble being moved to see Mary angry, or rather, angrier than when she started the fight.

Natsumi was the next to charge at him with her weapons. Issei crossed his arms to block her punch, but she had some monstrous strength that it sent him back a couple of feet. He thought that it was over, but she was already close for another attack. He blocked and dodged with great speed, but Natsumi's attacks did not stop their merciless assault. Her punches were strong to even dent the armor and the claws were tearing some of it apart.

He finally was able to counter her attacks by releasing a short burst of energy, causing her to be thrown back. The three attackers formed a semi circle and looked at each other. They looked back at Issei and charged at him all at once, but were suddenly stopped by a large boulder that appeared to be thrown. Issei turned around to see a tall figure that seemed to be made of sludge behind the girl he told to hide.

"What are you doing, er, what was your name again?" Issei asked.

"M-my name is Luna. I'm sorry if I didn't tell you sooner." She said.

Issei was somewhat confused, especially at the large creature behind her. It had only a torso and white eyes, similar to hers. The lower part of it seemed to sink into the ground.

They suddenly hear footsteps and turned their attention at the three girls coming towards them, weapons ready, with intent to kill. Issei's armor was in horrible shape and he was already tired after a few minutes against these girls.

Natsumi was in front and attacked first with a jump kick to the stomach. She back flipped causing him to move back and open for Nanami's quick and precise hits on his armor, causing it to slowly break. She punched Issei once more, until Mary plunged the sword dead center of the armor, causing the whole thing to shatter.

Issei fell back and clutched his chest. The sword plunged much deeper than he thought and he was bleeding furiously.

Luna watched in horror as Issei was about to be killed, she thought of ways to help, and the creature behind her did. It lunged towards Issei and caught them by surprise, giving itself a quick opportunity to swat them back from Issei and save him. It carried him back to Luna and set him down.

"Issei-san, are, are you alright?" Luna asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, just a flesh wound." Issei said, not making it very believable due to the blood staining his shirt and his heavy breathing.

The girls got up and looked at Issei with pure hate, before charging with a powerful, murderous aura surrounding them. Their weapons started to glow with their matching color, giving it more power.

Luna signaled her creature to attack and it did so. It had amazing strength and speed as it was able to hold its own against the girls' heavy barrage of attacks. It was capable of hardening its form to create powerful shields against their attacks, but also dodge by liquefying itself and turning back.

The girls couldn't seem to find the weak spots and continued to aimlessly hit and miss the creature, which gave time for Luna to patch up Issei's wound with a ripped up cloth. It was able to stop the bleeding, but it still was hindering him due to the pain.

Luna called back her creature and readied to fight the girls, with Issei barely standing, in a fighting position. It was still 2 vs. 3 due to Luna incapable of fighting, so Issei's priority for now was to protect Luna. He'll help the girls when, or if, he beats them.

They charged at him and the sludge creature did the same, turning his arms to large, hardened maces. It swung them fast and hard, often hitting the girls or making them trip over its long arms, but they were determined and counterattacked, using a much faster speed and complex attacks, that would leave even Issei confused of where they would strike.

Mary was able to plunge her blade deep into its chest, but he merely turned to liquid and escaped, but Natsumi thought ahead and slammed her blue clawed fist at its liquid form.

"Polar Shift." She whispered, and the sludge became frozen, now able to be broken.

[Hyodo-kun, we need to retreat for now, you are in no shape to fight any longer.]

Verium was worried, but Issei ignored him. He could still fight, he fought things that were much, much worse than this. He summoned his sword and clasped it with both of his hands, ready to fight, but Saizen said otherwise.

[We can't fight them in your state, we need to retreat. That girl didn't just give you a wound, it's breaking down your stamina at a rapid pace. We need you to rest first. Think of the girl you're trying to protect!]

Saizen was right, he needed to think about Luna's safety first. He agreed to the two dragon's judgments and picked up Luna.

"Wha-what are we doing Issei-san?" Luna asked, with such a flustered face, it almost like he was holding Asia.

"We got to retreat, I don't think I'll be able to fight them for now." Issei said, right before great, red crystal wings appeared out of his back.

They started to float upwards and started to fly away, but he suddenly had an instinct to turn around and found that the girls were chasing them in the air, riding lightning under their feet. They were closing in on him fast. He needed to shake them, but this was the fastest he could go.

He suddenly felt one of his wings jolt and turned his head again. They were firing magical attacks at him now. He had no energy left and wasn't able to dodge them, so he took them head on, until he his wings sent him crashing down towards the forests below. He was mindful of Luna still in his arms and turned his body so his back hit the ground.

"Luna, you need to go. You need to escape while you still can. They won't hesitate to torture anyone who knows me." Issei said, but having a hard time trying to talk.

Luna nodded and started to run into the deep forest. He knew she would escape, but when the last of his vision saw was two figures landing in front of her, grabbing her. He watched as two armored boots came closer to him. He blacked out before he could see the rest.

**Such suspense, but I'm not killing him. I think that I may have slightly rushed on some parts, so I'm sorry. Anyway, did you hate it? Like it? Couldn't care less about it? Tell me in your reviews, I appreciate them!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello once more! I am back (for a short while) and giving you another chapter! I decided to mess with some emotions, besides being horny. I could use some practice on conveying them, but for now, it will do. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Confrontation**

The damp dungeon was silent with only the slow and monotone drips of water falling from the ceiling. The 2 torches that lit in the cell gave off a miniscule amount of light, almost making the whole place to be black as midnight. The cold stone further made this even more torturing for the one resident asleep within.

Issei started to gain his consciousness, but the ache and pain he was receiving was annoying. His clothing were ripped up and wet from the waters above him that further added to the torture. His vision still blurry, he tried to examine where he was, but such a light given off was like a firefly within a dark abyss. He tried to move his arms and legs, but could not as he was chained to a wall. His muscles were weary from the battle and screamed with each attempted movement.

The echoes of his shackles soon attracted the attention of his captor and guard. Nanami walked to the cell in the same outfit she wore during their battle. She smiled with mockery as she saw her defeated opponent in such a state.

"Looks like you're awake, Issei-kun. Glad to have you up again, we wouldn't want to have you die instantly or else Master would be peeved at me for my carelessness." She said with such an adoring tone for War. She sounded very much like the normal Nanami when they first met, but now her attention was to War, not him.

Issei kept silent as he looked to the ground, his chocolate hair uncombed and messy, covering his face. Nanami soon looked at the quiet Issei, when she said the few words that made his guilt of not defeating and saving them from War grow.

"I used to admire you so very much to the point of me loving you, but with our eyes opened by War, me and the other girls now see you as just a weakling. We adore War more than we ever will for you." Nanami stated, walking away knowing she has made a dent into his mind

[Hyodo-kun, are you alright?] Verium said within his mind.

'Sort of, just a little beat up. Did you hear what she said?' Issei replied telepathically.

[I heard, it must hurt.]

'Thanks for the obvious.'

[I'm sorry, but for now, we must start formulating our escape. I could easily get us out if these were ordinary chains, but War was prepared for it and used a sealing circle to block mine and the rest of the dragons' power.

'I see, so we have no way out?'

[Not necessarily, I can't generate my power outwardly, but I am still able to let the power flow within your body. I am the only one that managed to avoid War's stasis touch. Anyway, I'll let my power spread out and once you are ready, you can break the chain using your magic.]

'Verium, I can use magic, but it only works with clothing, especially women's clothes.'

[If its like that, I can amplify just your strength.]

'That works.'

Verium went silent as Issei waited for the power to flow, but nothing came. 10 minutes passed until Verium spoke once more.

[War thought this through, all of my power is being sucked into the chains. I can't use it.]

'I guess we can only wait.' He said, but soon started to breakdown and show all his emotions that he has held throughout this journey.

Issei knew of the inevitable he was going to face with War, as he thought of his last memories within his mind. The picture of everyone back in the living, especially Rias. Her face stuck to his mind the most like glue, as the tears from his eyes soon start to flow down his cheeks.

Her beautiful blue eyes, crimson hair, and her voice. The memories he carried start to flood his mind, as if he was reliving everything before his death. The sadness was overwhelming to his as his tears continue to cascade from his face and into the cold floor. The pain of dying again, to come so far, but also to come up short. It was too much for him to bear, with the many other burdens he is already carrying.

He continued to cry, unknown to him, a small little being was steadily crawling its way within the cell. Its gray and white blob like body crawled towards Issei.

The dim light managed to shine on the small being as Issei looked over, his eyes still red and wet from crying. It looked rather familiar as its color reminded of him of something. His mind flashed back to the battle with the 3 girls. He recalled the monster Luna summoned being crushed and shattered to a million pieces.

'How…'

The small thing got near Issei's right wrist and towards the cuff, where it did something miraculous. The small thing started to corrode the metal chain, even if it contained draconic magic and power.

The chain snapped and freed his right arm and he felt the power Verium talked about and grasped the chain on his left arm, but when he did, all the power he felt was suddenly lost.

He withdrew his hand from the chain and felt it come back once more. Even if he was released, this chain would easily sap his strength away. He looked over to the little blob and scooped him up. He set it down on his left arm and it crawled to the chain and melted it as well. He did the same process with his legs, until he felt strength from Verium flowing throughout his body.

'Verium, how are the other dragons?' He asked worryingly

[They are being released from stasis, but their energy is drained. They won't be able to help for a while.]

He nodded in silenced and quietly approached the door, to see the sleeping guard just an arm's reach from him. He saw the key hanging on his belt and slowly started to grab for it.

The guard snorted and caused Issei to stop moving. The guard stirred on its seat, but did not wake up. He was about to reach it, when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He hurried and grabbed the key, before carefully sliding it out.

The footsteps got closer and louder, as Issei stumbled a bit in opening the door. He was about to step out, when the door made a horrible and loud screech. It caused the guard to wake up and panic as it saw Issei gone from his chains. It yelled and charged at him, but was quickly silenced it got punched by Issei square on the face.

He looked towards the staircase as he knew the rhythm of the steps were now quick instead of the calm and steady step he heard in the beginning. He look to the opposite direction, where a wooden door was located at the end of the long corridor.

He quickly dashed at it, hearing a garbling noise behind him, apparently yelling some gibberish.

He didn't think and quickly bashed open the door with his shoulder, revealing the contents of the room.

"W-what the…"

The room was filled with bloodied civilians. War had a brutal way of getting information out of people, and this was the result. A bunch of broken willed people stuck in cells like animals in a zoo.

He heard numerous footsteps and growling coming from behind and they were moving fast. He ran through the long corridor filled with people he had never seen before, but they all have experienced the same thing.

He turned right to find a dead end, with a window. He peered out to see a raging storm all over the landscape. The strong winds howled as they traveled across the plain, lightning pierced the sky in a bright blue flash, followed by a resounding boom of thunder.

He turned his attention to the growling behind him as he faced at least 10 guards. Some had a bright orange, while others had a dark green skin. They all looked like humanoid gators, but with armor and weapons.

Seeing Issei cornered, they took the opportunity to attack him, but Issei had other plans. He jumped out the window.

**Satan's stronghold.**

Satan paced back and forth as he looked through his window. The other people in the room were Yuuki, Lily, and his generals. The storm outside continued as he sighed and turned to the others.

Yuuki and Lily were asleep and so were some of his generals. Mammon opened his eyes and looked at Satan. He knew exactly what he was thinking. He nodded, and prodded his other comrades to wake up.

They all opened their eyes, including Yuuki and Lily. Satan explained what the plan was, as the entire demon army was ready. They all gathered at the center table and discussed with his generals in what routes, maneuvers and tactics are needed.

Yuuki and Lily merely listened and talked with the maids in the mansion, when they all heard a loud knock from the door. The generals heard it as well.

They all looked rather concerned, as no being should be able to find the mansion, unless permitted to by an ally. They all suspected it to be an angel scouting. They all gathered near the door, ready to fight. One of the butlers opened the door, to find a soaked blonde girl with her hands on her hips and wearing a scowl on her face.

"Finally! You guys sure took your t-"

"Oh my god! You're alive! Yuuki and ! were so worried!" Lily said as she hugged her soaking friend.

"Well, thanks for worrying, but can I please get in…" She trailed off as she saw the many people gathering near the door. Some intimidating than the rest.

"Who is this person?" Leviathan asked with a harsh tone.

"This is Rena, a friend of ours, as well as Issei's." Yuuki said.

Leviathan merely nodded and stepped back into the war room, followed by the rest of the generals, leaving Satan to greet the soaked maiden.

"Hello, and welcome to my humble abode. I am Satan, ruler of Hell." He said in a pleasant tone.

Rena's eyes changed from annoyance to total fear. She was in the presence of a powerful being. She immediately bowed respectfully to him.

"I-it's an honor to meet you your h-highness." She said. 'Please don't steal my soul!' She thought to herself.

"Don't worry about being formal, please call me Satan." He smiled good-naturedly and faced his servants.

"Give this young lady some new clothes immediately."

"Yes sir." All the servants walked back to their respective chores, while a few maids came out with a purple gothic dress for Rena.

"I hope you don't mind wearing it for a short while. My maids will help you dry up and change."

"N-not at all. Thank you for your hospitality Lucifer-sama." She said and walked towards her friends, along with the maids.

"He seems kind…"

"Yeah, unless he's in battle." Yuuki said, smiling mischievously.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Nothing, but we do need to get you changed. You'll catch a cold, plus that dress is going to look gorgeous on you."

With that said, Yuuki and Lily pushed Rena into a room, followed by the maids, who were also having some laughs.

In the war room, the generals finished discussing the plan and Satan nodded to Behemoth, whom nodded back and opened a door to the wide field behind the house.

Behemoth's eyes glowed a blood shade of red, as he raised his left hand, the traditional sacrificial circle formed on the back of his hand. He raised his hand higher and faced the circle towards the field.

At first, nothing happened, with only the heavy rain and wind in sight, but a loud noise and an enormous rumbling started. The field started to crack open and the chorus of growling, roaring, and cheering of the demons overwhelmed the thunder itself, as they started to climb up the chasm. Giant circles appeared in the middle of the sky facing vertical. In a matter of seconds, 3 different giant demons started to march out.

One demon had an immense feline body, almost up to 40 meters tall and 30 meter from head to tail, with fur that resembled a red, jagged stone surface. With each step of its 4 paws, the ground shook violently. Its large tree like canines hanged firmly on its upper jaw as it protrudes from its mouth. The gold intimidating eyes searching the world, before stopping to watch its master.

Another giant entered with a humanoid shape, similar to the height of the previous demon. Its long, sloth like arms dragged across the formerly green field, holding 3 large claws in each hand. The long red hair of the beast made it seem blind, and the cumbersome gait made it slow. It stopped next to the feline.

The final demon soon joined. The heads first came. 6 snake like heads poked out of the circle, their teeth fully bared revealing 3 rows of silver teeth. Soon the rest of its body came out, showing a blue pattern in its scales. The demonic hydra roared at the sky and joined the rest.

Behemoth turned back to Satan. His eyes still blood red.

"The army is ready and waiting for your orders." He said as he gestured to the red sea of soldiers bowing to Satan as he approached.

"War has rode, in which I know all of you are quite eager to fight. War's arrival has given us the sign to end the feud between angels and demons. I myself already know that the Archangels are also assembling their army. This battle will be the ending result of our rivalry. Let us march and fight to the death to let the demons rule this land!" Satan yelled to his soldiers as they roared and cheered along with the storm.

He turned back to Behemoth.

"Get the rest of the generals and lead them towards the school, where we recovered Issei. I suspect the angels will be there since War and the other horsemen marked it with their presence."

"Yes sir."

Satan returned to the mansion and saw the 3 girls conversing with the maids. He approached them and cleared his throats, signaling his servants to leave for a moment.

"Girls, you are loyal to Issei, am I correct?" He asked the 3 girls, who looked confused.

"Of course. Granted we all haven't had much time to spend together, we adore him since he saved us from a monster during our time of need. He has a strong sense of justice that makes us want to be with him." Lily said.

"I see, well then, are you capable of saving him?"

"What do you mean?" Yuuki asked.

"You see, I sensed his danger after a strange energy was wrapped around him. The dragons he holds were part of a dragon cell I acquired. A trace of my power is within it, but once I felt that energy die down, I knew there was trouble. I predict that he was captured by War."

"N-no way! He wouldn't have lost!" Rena exclaimed, but was silenced by Satan's hand.

"War isn't someone to be meddled with. He is capable of fighting dragons by himself, plus he holds 3 of your friends hostage. Issei would have no choice."

The 3 girls stayed silent for a while, before Satan went on.

"Therefore, you 3 must go to him and release him from War's imprisonment. Issei's life may depend on it."

The girls' eyes flashed when he said that. Their determination started to flare.

"There is in no way I will let him die…He has to make me bear his children." Yuuki said with utmost determination.

"W-what?"

"That's right. Though not the same reasons as hers, but we wouldn't let our own friend die." Lily said.

"I agree to that." Rena responded.

"Very well, but you must find him quickly, as my race will have a war against the angels, and I do not wish for unneeded deaths who aren't part of our cause."

The girls nodded and walked out the door. Their usual clothing were soon changed to their original Valkyrie armor. The trio exploded off the ground and rode the lightning, Yuuki leading the way with her hunting ability.

"Good luck." Satan said as he watched them move farther away, before turning to the matter at hand.

**Outer tower…**

The demons looked through the window and looked around in the nearly invisible landscape covered by rain. They did not find the prisoner and thought that he had died. They all left the window and returned to their post.

Issei sighed as he hung on a small ledge 2 windows down the one he jumped off. He pulled himself up and onto the room. It looked identical to the cell he was in and looked around to see if there were any guards, when he accidentally bumped onto something, or rather, someone.

"Please, don't hurt me…I didn't do anything wrong…" a small squeak of a voice said.

He recognized that voice.

"L-Luna, is that you?" He whispered.

"Issei-san?" Luna whispered back.

"Yeah, its me. You alright? Did they do anything to you?"

"They did not do anything to me, but handle me roughly and threw me in this cell."

"Good, we can still get out of here together since you're alright."

"The door is locked though."

"I brought someone along to help me with that." He said as he pulled out a small blob.

"I-I thought he was gone." She said.

"Guess not, but you should probably take care of him." He handed the blob to her.

"I will, but first, we need to get out." She turned to the door and held her hand near the lock, where the blob jumped in and that magical click was heard. The door was open and the blob returned to Luna.

"Sweet." He gestured Luna to follow him as they went through the maze of corridors. They moved silently as Issei easily incapacitated guards that did not sense them. Some moments were rather awkward when Luna and Issei were squeezed to a tight area where they needed to wait for a patrol to pass by. Issei tried not to be a lolicon, but he couldn't help that her small body looked familiar to Koneko's.

They wandered for about an hour so, resting at safe times. They soon found a stairway that led to what seemed to be the roof. He opened the door and saw that they were on the roof. The storm has yet to cease and he could feel the rain sting his back and the wind on his face.

He looked around and saw that the roof had 4 towers in each corner, each bearing a familiar insignia. It soon dawned to him where he was. This was the school he shortly attended, and the civilians he saw were students that were captured.

He and Luna ran to the edge of the roof, where Issei spoke to Verium.

'Verium, you still there?'

[Yes, I was only waiting. What do you need me for?]

'Lancelot.'

[Very well.]

Verium gathered his strength and activated The Winged Lancelot. The red crystal wings spread open to their full length, as if Issei were stretching them. Luna walked up beside him and smiled.

He nodded and was about to pick up Luna when he suddenly felt something coming towards him. His reflex was to dodge and he did so, grabbing Luna in the process, as he rolled out of the magical attack.

He looked up to see War and the 3 girls standing there, as if they were expecting him. The girls smiled and readied their weapons, while War just stood there, smiling, but clearly mocking him.

"Did you really think you could escape? I had already planned for your escape, but I never thought it would have gone so smoothly." War said casually in his deep voice.

Issei growled in anger. He took these girls as shields and put them around him. He couldn't use his power, as he would severely hurt them.

"Surrender Hyodo Issei, or I will do something that you may regret for not following my demands."

He knew all too well what he was going to do, but his mind snapped to another subject. He could feel 3 people coming towards him, and when he turned around, he saw 3 girls riding a blue lightning.

"Hey, there he is!" said one of them.

They all changed directions and came closer, until Issei could recognize them. He smiled, but soon frowned as he reexamined the situation. The girls War was keeping hostage could easily watch Yuuki, Rena, and Lily, while he and Luna are barely a match against War with his fatigued state.

The 3 girls landed and proceeded to hug Issei. They started to cry, or it was just the rain, as they said how worried they were about him. He tried to calm them down, but the sight of the other 3 girls caught their attention and stood defensively around Issei.

"So, you must be War." Rena said. "Give is back our friends, you demon."

"I don't think you have the right or the power to order me around, insect." War spat at Rena.

Lily walked behind Issei and held her hands to his back, letting a blue glow surround her hand. Issei felt a strange, yet calming energy pass through his body. Despite the chaos of the storm and the villain that is controlling his friends, he felt strangely calm.

After Lily took her hands off his back, he felt rejuvenated. It felt as if a large weight was taken off him and had the energy to take on the world, or in this case, a horseman.

He made a confident smile and turned to War.

"I will take you down and take away your influence from my friends." He yelled through the storm.

"I'd like to see you try." War responded as he unsheathed his stone sword, the girls positioning themselves for a fight.

Issei and his group did the same, they readied themselves to attack, when something happened that neither group expected.

From Issei's back, a large red army was marching, along with 3 gigantic demons. Some were in the air, while the majority was on the ground. The size was baffling; it was 3 times as large as what the girls saw before they left.

From War's back, an army of luminescent angels flew across the sky, while some walking on the ground. The army was roughly the same size as the other. They however had much a clearer version of their giants. One was clearly a large white mammoth, the next one being a large albino lion, and the last being a great eagle.

The 7 princes of hell stood on the ground, while the 7 archangels stayed afloat in the air. Themselves and their army eyed at each other with hate flaring from their eyes. Gabriel was holding Excalibur in his hand, the one ticket Issei had to return home.

War smiled at this strange outcome, he did not intend for the angels and demons to fight yet, but he paid it no mind. This war was going to make his battle with the Emperor Crimson Dragon much more interesting and chaotic.

On the other hand, Issei was getting even more worried, he did not want other to be involved in this fight, not angel or demon. Something caught his eye though. It was Excalibur. One of the angels was holding it. He could tell it was Excalibur due to the powerful holy aura it was emitting. No other weapon besides the Spear of Longinus could produce such aura.

"This is going to be fun, wouldn't you say, Hyodo Issei?" War chuckled.

"You make me sick War." Issei growled.

The other dragons soon woke from their sleep and quickly analyzed the situation. In a split second, Saizen, in his sword form, materialized on his right hand, while Ddraig, in his gauntlet form, materialized on his left forearm.

The two warriors and their companions looked at each other. Ready to strike.

The sky went black, everything went still, and when the lightning flashed…

The battle began.

**Unnecessary cliffhanger I know, but it was all I could write. Sorry for my absence and all. I have been in the hospital for quite some time due to an illness I have had ever since I was a young boy. I hope you all understand. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. **

**Back to my usual concluding statement/question. Did you like it? Hate it? Didn't care for it? Tell me in your reviews, they help me tremendously!**


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